Prompt payment is a priority for the new Small Business Crown Representative

What can CBI members expect from Martin's time in the role?

I’m delighted to take on the role of Small Business Crown Representative – a position designed to drive a better relationship between the government and small businesses, by advising ministers on the government’s engagement with them, and identifying the barriers facing small firms in the process.

The landscape for SMEs has personal significance for me. I come from a business background and understand many of the issues that firms face. My early career was spent in the hospitality sector, managing various hotels across the UK. I then spent the next 14 years as Group Chief Executive of Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce (including the Business Link service).

In recent years, I have moved to a portfolio career where I am a Non-Executive Chairman of three leisure businesses, Deputy Chairman of a large teaching hospital trust, and have just completed two three-year terms on the Government Regulat