Yesterday evening was the launch of the Birmingham Post’s much anticipated supplement, the “Power 50 - Who is really shaping the future of the West Midlands?” at Birmingham Future’s AGM. The supplement is out today and apparently I’m ‘in’ at number 20, which was a something of a pleasant surprise, especially given the tough month I’ve been having (more on this later).
At first I was bemused - I’m someone who runs a small company having not even hit thirty - what influence could I really be said to have? But when I thought about it further I realised that there’s a much bigger issue here than my name appearing in this list - it signals a very positive change in the attitudes of opinion-makers about the strength and relevance of the design industry and the creative and cultural industries as a whole.
This is something I’ve been arguing for for a fair few of the ten years I’ve been living in this city so it feels great that we’re making our voices heard more effectively than ever. And I’m not an isolated case. People working in the creative and cultural sector numbered some 17 out of 50 by my count, with 3 in the top 10.
The Birmingham Post’s still relatively new (and excellent) editor Marc Reeves opened up the launch event with a Top-of-the-Pops style Top Ten format. It wasn’t too far from “In at Number 7, it’s a non-mover”, but in a good way.
He opened by saying that there was bound to be criticism of the fifty people that made it (and those that hadn’t) to the final list but that that was the point. Well he’s not wrong there! I’m sure there’s bound to be a few people saying “Why him?” “Why not her?” - it’s disappointingly nearly all men.
I’m sure there are also going to be people saying that there are some glaring omissions too - I’m not going to name them here, but I was disappointed that some of the talented people I’ve been working with over the last few years to push the creative/cultural agenda didn’t feature. Let’s hope that gets rectified next year.
The big story here is that it’s not just an equivalent to the Rich List which the Post publish annually - this takes into account other factors, and for once this seems to be sending the message that Birmingham has finally ‘got it’ - a strong creative and cultural sector will be a significant factor in the continuing reinvention of Birmingham.
Let’s hope that this signals a sea-change in general opinion of how Birmingham will be reinventing itself in the future. Sure, big business counts, but if we’re all going to sign up to the big decisions that are being made at the moment (City Centre Masterplan, Regional Economic Strategy) we need to understand that Small is the new Big and that creativity and culture needs to be understood, represented and supported from the highest level if we’re going to make the city a success.
Everyone always says that we need to find and recognise the City’s champions in all areas. Well, now we have a start and I’m glad that creativity and culture feature so prominently.
Here’s the list (17 creative/cultural people in bold):
Councillor Ken Hardeman
Paul Dale pays tribute to one of the Birmingham’s greatest sons, who died this week. more
Those who nearly made it
Power 50 judges faced a difficult task in excluding from the final line-up some of the best known faces in Birmingham and the West Midlands. more
No.1 Digby, Lord Jones of Birmingham
Former leader of the CBI and recently installed as the Minister of State for Trade and Investment more
No.2 Sir Michael Lyons
Former chief executive of Birmingham City Council and current chairman of the new BBC Trust more
No.3 Alan Chatham
Chartered surveyor behind some of the city’s most prestigious mixed-use developments. more
No.4 Clive Dutton
Clive Dutton became director of planning and regeneration at Birmingham City Council in February 2005. more
No.5 Dorothy Wilson
Artistic director and chief executive of Mac (Midlands Arts Centre) in Birmingham and chair of Arts Council England, West Midlands more
No.6 Christine Braddock
Principal of Matthew Boulton College and credited with saving it from closure more
No.7 Derek Webley
District bishop for the New Testament Church of God in Handsworth and a fearless anti-gun campaigner. more
No.8 Sir Albert Bore
Former leader of Birmingham City Council and current chairman of an NHS Trust more
No.9 Robert Beckford
Academic, theologian, broadcaster, film-maker and lecturer… more
No.10 Liam Byrne
The Home Office minister responsible for immigration and Minister for the West Midlands more
No.11 Vincent Nichols
The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Birmingham, is spiritual leader for Catholics across the centre of England. more
No.12 Mike Whitby
The leader of Birmingham City Council since 2004 more
No.13 Bishop Joe Aldred
Chairman of the Council of Black Led Churches more
No.14 Jerry Blackett
Chief Executive at Birmingham Chamber more
No.15 Neil Rami
Chief executive of Marketing Birmingham more
No.16 David Bintley
Artistic director of Birmingham Royal Ballet more
No.17 Robert Edmiston
Businessman who is at seventh place in the Birmingham Post Rich List more
No.18 Soweto Kinch
Jazz saxophonist and rap artist more
No.19 Gary Taylor
The first winner of Birmingham Young Professional of the Year and a director of Argent Group more
No.20 Stef Lewandowski
The founder and managing director of Digbeth-based creative agency 3form more
No.21 Glenn Howells
The founding director of Birmingham-based Glenn Howells Architects and a rising star in British architecture. more
No.22 Prof Nick James
A consultant in clinical oncology at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital more
No.23 David Cragg
The first regional director of the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) in the West Midlands more
No.24 Fyfe Dangerfield
The charismatic frontman of avant-garde pop group Guillemots more
No.25 Steve Dyson
Editor of the Birmingham Mail more
No.26 Paul Wilson
Chief executive of law firm Shakespeare Putsman. more
No.27 Professor Michael Clarke
Birmingham University’s vice-principal more
No.28 Ed Doolan
Birmingham’s most famous Aussie more
No.29 Jonnie Turpie
Founder of Maverick Television more
No.30 Lord Hunt
Lord Hunt of Kings Heath became a Minister in the Ministry of Justice in Gordon Brown’s his Government. more
No.31 Nick Venning
Marketing director for PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Global Industry Programme, Nick Venning is also a champion for corporate charitable giving. more
No.32 Dr Mohammad Naseem
Chairman of Birmingham Central Mosque more
No.33 Stephen Karle
Stephen Karle runs one of the most important financial services companies in the West Midlands - the 158 year-old West Bromwich Building Society more
No.34 Dave Pollard
One of the visionaries of the Birmingham art scene. more
No.35 Dr Arun Bajaj
In March this year Dr Arun Bajaj was appointed chairman of the Birmingham-based Institute of Asian Business more
No.36 Paul O’Connor
Chief Executive of Birmingham Children’s Hospital more
No.37 Trevor Foster
Trevor Foster is is managing director, banking, of Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander more
Director of the IKON - Page appears to be missing from the Birmingham Post site.
No.39 Paul Bassi
As the son of a humble foundry worker, Paul Bassi knows what it’s like to have to fight your way to the top. more
No.40 James North
James North may not yet be the most powerful man in Birmingham, but he is certainly one of the most influential. more
No.41 Adrian Goldberg
Adrian Goldberg is a self-confessed stirrer. His column in the Birmingham Mail is called The Stirrer and he even has a website at www.thestirrer.com. more
No.42 Karl George MBE
Karl George has entrepreneurial blood running through his veins. more
No.43 Shin
Bhangra pop star Shin, singer with DCS more
No.44 Carol Coombes
Carol Coombes is a senior consultant with human resources consultancy Caret more
No.45 Clare Edwards
Clare Edwards was named Birmingham Young Professional of the Year more
No.46 Simon Wales
Simon Wales is the new general manager of Birmingham Town Hall more
No.47 Ronnie Bowker
Ronnie Bowker, senior partner of accountants Ernst & Young in Birmingham, was born in Stellenbosch, South Africa. more
No.48 Chas Watkins
Chas Watkins is output editor of BBC Midlands Today more
No.49 John Edwards
John Edwards has been chief executive of Advantage West Midlands, the regional development agency, since November 2000. more
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2 Comments
It certainly does seem to be an encouraging sign - good to see people like you and Clare Edwards getting a mention, and Adrian Goldberg.
Congratulations.
Rich
Xx
Firstly, Well done chap, you are quite an influential person. But, i cant help thinking that this should have been called the 50 most connected / well known in Birmingham
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[...] sector above the more traditional business and sport. As Stef Lewandowski (number 20) asks, Is Birmingham “getting it”? The “it” being that a strong and vibrant creative and artistic community and [...]
[...] a great idea for the Learning Skills Council with Clare Edwards of Gigbeth (another one that made The List). I’ve also been involved with the lovely people at Audiences Central working with them on a [...]