CEO of Novar Joins BitC

Business in the Community has appointed a new Managing Director to be responsible for all operational aspects of the organisation. Former Chief Executive of global manufacturing company, Novar PLC Group, Stephen Howard will join Business in the Community in September 2005.

Announcing his appointment, Business in the Community Chief Executive Julia Cleverdon said Mr Howard will bring a wealth of experience from the corporate sector, combined with strong operations background.

"Stephen has had a distinguished career in the industrial and commercial world, most recently as Chief Executive of Novar PLC," she said.

"Importantly, he has also been involved in a number of our programs, serving the last four years as a Board member for Business Action on Homelessness, and more recently chaired the Leadership team supporting London operations.

More than 70 of the FTSE 100 are in membership of the BITC, so it is important that we have a team who understands the corporate sector to ensure we deliver programs that meet their needs."

Chairman of Business in the Community, Mike Rake also welcomed the new appointment.

"We are delighted that Stephen will join Business in the Community bringing such strong commercial and operational skills, to ensure that we continue to deliver the highest quality of service and efficiency to our member companies and the wider community," he said.

Mr Howard joined Novar PLC in 2004 from the Cookson Group PLC. He is a non-executive director of Slough Estates PLC and is chairman of Habitat for Humanity, Great Britain.

Business in the Community is a unique movement in the UK of over 800 members companies, with a further 2000 plus engaged through our programmes and campaigns.

The organisation operates through a local network of more than 100 business led partnerships and 60 global partners. Our purpose is to inspire, challenge and support business in continually improving its impact in the community, environment, marketplace and workplace.