A GROUP new Deputy Lieutenants have been appointed for the region.
The Lord-Lieutenant of the West Midlands, Sir John Crabtree OBE, has announced the nine whose backgrounds range from sport and social history, to health, business and tackling accessibility and inclusion.
Each of those chosen have already contributed significantly to either national life, to their local communities – or both. The new appointments bring the total of Deputy-Lieutenants in the West Midlands to 68.
Among them are Coventry sports consultant David Moorcroft OBE and Solihull’s Carmen Watson.
David, a partner in Pointfourone LLP, was previously Chief Executive of UK Athletics Ltd, the governing body for athletics in the UK. He took the organisation from a failing company to the most commercially successful athletics governing body in the world.
He was a middle and long distance runner, competing in three Olympic Games and was the World record holder for the 5,000 metres for many years.
David is also Chair of Parkrun UK Ltd and was High Sheriff for West Midlands in 2022/23, receiving the OBE in 1998 for services to British sport.
Carmen is the Chairperson of Pertemps Network Group.
She has over 30 years’ experience in recruitment and is responsible for promoting and delivering best practice in the field of attraction, recruitment and retention of talent on behalf of clients ranging from SMEs to blue chip organisations, servicing both the public and private sectors across the UK.
She is a strong advocate for equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace and is a member of the Business in the Community Race for Opportunity Leadership Team.
Carmen received an Honorary Doctorate from Aston University in 2021 and is a Doctor of Business Administration.
The new appointees will support the Lord-Lieutenant – His Majesty’s personal representative in the West Midlands – in several ways.
These include attending on Royalty during official visits to the region, representation at citizenship ceremonies, supporting the armed forces of The Crown, particularly the reserve and cadet forces.
They will also encorage charitable and voluntary work and local schemes to benefit the community, as well as promoting and encouraging nominations for honours and the King’s Awards for the County of the West Midlands.
Sir John said the nine appointments coincided with the start of King Charles III’s reign and came at an exciting time for the West Midlands region as it builds its position on the national and world stage, following last year’s highly successful Commonwealth Games.
“The West Midlands Lieutenancy is committed to supporting and representing every community in the county.
“As the second largest lieutenancy in England and Wales and home to nearly 3million residents, the enthusiasm and additional reach of these excellent new Deputy Lieutenants will complement the great work of my existing team and I look forward to working with them.”
The West Midlands Lieutenancy, established in 1974, comprises Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.
