Further to this post, the Chair of iSE’s board of directors, Dr Steve Harding, has issued a statement welcoming iSE’s new chief executive, Cathy Brown.

Cathy will replace Sarah Crawley, iSE’s founder and only CEO since the company’s formation, on the 1st July. They are working together throughout June as iSE makes this important transition.

Cathy has over thirty years’ experience of working in the public, private and third sectors, including delivering strategic transformation programmes for a FTSE100 company and providing practical guidance to help organisations improve workplace experience and performance through a variety of business models. She is the former Executive Director of Engage for Success, the UK’s movement for employee engagement, and Operations Director of the Employee Ownership Association.

In 2017 and again in 2019, Perkbox, the leading online platform for employee experience, performance and wellbeing, recognised Cathy as being in the top fifteen HR influencers in the country.

This marks a huge moment for Sarah personally, of course, and for iSE and its team. But it also signals a major new development for the social enterprise sector in Birmingham and the region. I’m sure many will join me in saying that we look forward to getting to know Cathy and to working with her as we have with Sarah over the past two decades. A new chapter in social enterprise support and development in Birmingham is about to begin.