The Mayor of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), Andy Street, has been confirmed as the latest big-name speaker to join the DIB (Downtown in Business) national Planning, Property & Regeneration conference that will take place in Birmingham on Thursday 9th February next year.

 

The former chief executive of John Lewis Partnership was re-elected to his second term in office last year and is seen as one of the most effective regional politicians in the country. Street is a passionate advocate of sustainability, has helped win millions of pounds of investment into his region from government and private sector investors, is overseeing a transformation of West Midlands infrastructure, including the HS2 project, and he was part of Birmingham’s successful Commonwealth Games leadership team. 

DIB chief executive Frank McKenna said: “I am absolutely delighted that Andy can join the conference. He is an exceptional mayor, and, not surprisingly given his background, he absolutely understands business.

“He has been really effective in putting together private-public sector partnerships – which will be crucial if we are to deliver the ‘levelling up’ ambitions the country has. I know delegates will get a massive amount out of Andy’s keynote conference address.”

Among other local authority leaders who are speaking at the conference are the leader of Birmingham City Council Ian Ward, the leader of Leeds City Council James Lewis, and the chief executives of Coventry, Manchester, Salford, and Wolverhampton City Councils.