Chris Greenhalgh

As Head of Strategic Development, Chris leads on working with national government departments and organisations, and supports the development of collaborations with both local areas and private partners to design and deliver business growth programmes.

He was previously a founding member of the team that established GC Business Growth Hub in 2011, the first in the country, which became the template for growth hubs across every Local Enterprise Partnership in England. With an initial investment of £500,000 from the Growth Company, he contributed to its development locally, nationally and internationally transforming into £20 million per annum business with a team of more than 200 that has helped over 12,000 entrepreneurs either start, grow or scale operations globally.  

Chris developed the Growth Company's position as National Coordinator, supporting BEIS with the design, development and mobilisation of the Peer Networks programme in England, in addition to providing coordination support for the Growth Hub network across England: supporting businesses through both EU Exit and EU Transition, and providing insights into the impact of government policies at a local level, such as in response to Covid.

Chris previously worked at senior levels in both the private and public sectors, designing and implementing an extensive range of business support services. These have been at regional, national and international levels, addressing themes such as innovation, net zero, access to finance and internationalising innovative products and services. He worked in product development consultancy, developing and delivering commercial services to private sector growth clients in a range of sectors including the automotive, aerospace, food and nuclear industries; these ranged from SMEs to global manufacturing and engineering corporations, including Rolls Royce and former BNFL.