Marketing Derby's new starters

Marketing Derby has welcomed two new members to its inward investment team at the start of 2020 with the appointment of Charlene Sharp and Cory Clifton.

Charlene joins as an Inward Investment Executive, working primarily with businesses looking to locate and expand in Derby as well as helping to raise the profile of the city and county to target audiences in order to attract investment and create jobs.

Born in Derby, she brings valuable sector experience to the team, having worked at the BBC for over 15 years on various projects from the launch of the BBC's Children's digital channels CBBC and CBeebies, to working across the BBC Radio and Music strands at Radio 1, 1Xtra and Asian Network in roles programming, planning and event producing. She also launched Mainframe from Bondholder QUAD (a partner of the The Big House project with a focus on the Creative and Digital sector) offering business advice and support.

Charlene is also a graduate of Bondholder the University of Derby with a degree in Sport Management, which she put into good practice in her recent role as the Executive Assistant to the CEO at Bondholder Derby County Football Club. She says about her new role: “It's an exciting time to be at Marketing Derby, there is so much going on in the city and county and I am looking forward to meeting with investors and supporting businesses.”

Cory Clifton also joins the team as an Inward Investment Executive, and will help expand the support provided across the county as part of the burgeoning Invest in Derbyshire service, which Marketing Derby runs in collaboration with Derbyshire Economic Partnership.

Cory has degrees from De Montfort University and Bondholder the University of Derby in Global Banking and Finance and Business Management and has first-hand experience of working for SMEs, as well as having international experience within CIBC in Toronto, Canada. He will be joining the team representing Derby and Derbyshire at the global property fair, MIPIM in Cannes in March 2020, of which he says: “I am looking forward to representing Derbyshire in Cannes, showcasing what fantastic investment opportunities this county has to offer.''

Head of Investment at Marketing Derby, Kathryn Allen said “We are delighted to welcome Charlene and Cory to the Marketing Derby team; their appointments will further strengthen the service we provide to businesses and investors considering Derby and Derbyshire, and will enable us to work more closely with our local stakeholders and Bondholders to promote key sectors.”