This is my first week in my new role as CEO at the EC BID. I am very excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for this area and the wonderful businesses that call the Eastern City Cluster home. Not yet one year old, the EC is one of London’s newest BIDs, and we are already acting as place leaders, responding to what our businesses need and tackling the issues that are most important to them. But we are just getting going and our delivery will really start to build in the coming months.
To fully understand what businesses need we will foster great relationships, develop a two-way dialogue and be insight driven in our decision making. One of the current challenges is how businesses navigate the new working landscape and the impacts of hybrid working. We will use data and listen to our business community to develop strategies and deliver meaningful interventions to adapt to these changes. From creating a world class place to delivering compelling reasons for people to visit and workers to return, we will be unequivocal in supporting the EC area and its fantastic mix of businesses, large and small.
The City’s global attractiveness and competitiveness is more important than ever. I want to bolster the Eastern City Cluster’s global reputation, not only as a thriving financial district, but as a key player on the world stage. We will do this by finding the right platforms for promotion and developing valuable partnerships.
Now is the time to be creative, bold and do things differently. Reinvention should be embraced if we think it can secure growth and positive change for London.
We will work to keep the ESG agenda at the heart of everything we do, ensuring we support economic growth alongside demonstrating compassion and widening opportunities for all. We will also be supporting the City of London Corporation on their Climate Action Strategy to achieve net zero, build climate resilience and champion sustainable growth, both in the UK and globally.
With a growing executive team in place, the EC BID will be the champion for the area, working day in and day out to support our amazing business community, attracting new visitors, new investors, and ultimately create new opportunities.
I look forward to working with you all and getting to know your businesses. This is truly a team effort and together we are stronger. Having worked in BIDs for a long time I have witnessed how impactful collective action can be at transforming places. The EC BID has huge potential to pioneer a new future for the Eastern City Cluster and for the City of London.
Kate Hart, CEO EC BID