Britain’s Energy Coast Business Cluster has appointed Dianne Richardson as its first Chief Executive.

“‘BECBC is the place where energy meets business and the coming years will prove pivotal for the energy sector and business, with both Net Zero and Levelling-up right at the top of the agenda.

"To this end, we have taken the opportunity to reshape BECBC to meet the evolving needs of our members by appointing our first Chief Executive – Dianne Richardson.

"Dianne, a successful and well-known Cumbrian businessperson, with a particular focus on social value, proved to be the stand-out candidate in our search to take the organisation to the next level and we are delighted to work with Dianne in this new role,” said Ivan Baldwin, chairman of Britain’s Energy Coast Business Cluster.

During her career Dianne has held roles in the public sector, education and nuclear as well as a period of self-employment. Most recently she was KBR's social impact lead for PPP-a 20 year partnership between Sellafield Ltd and four world class partners-KBR, Jacobs, Morgan Sindall and Doosan Babcock-to revolutionise major project delivery at the Sellafield site and leave a lasting legacy.

She holds a volunteer role on Copeland Community Fund board as well as being a member of the Cumbria Social Enterprise Partnership steering group.

“I’m delighted to be joining Britain’s Energy Coast Business Cluster in a different role after four years of volunteering with the organization as Board Director. The BECBC team are wonderful individuals, collectively they are a force for good. I’ll be working with them to support our close to 300 members as everyone emerges from the pandemic and ensuring that we deliver what our members need and want from us.”

Dianne has strong Cumbrian roots and lives with her husband, Gerard, a local wine merchant, in Whitehaven. They have 4 children and 9 grandchildren.