Canterbury BID CEO appointed Chair of Association of Town and City Management

Chief Executive of Canterbury BID Lisa Carlson becomes the first BID representative to become Chair of the Association of Town and City Management (ATCM) Board of Directors.

Lisa Carlson

In addition to managing Canterbury’s Business Improvement District, Lisa will now lead the town and city management industry over the next three years and support its navigation through the Covid-19 economic recovery. 

The ATCM is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to promoting the vitality and viability of urban centres across the UK and Europe.

The ATCM noted that Lisa’s excellent qualities as a place manager since becoming Canterbury BID CEO, and credited her with giving businesses ‘more of a voice in local decision making and introducing innovative and collaborative ways of working with local authorities and community groups, as well as helping the Purple Flag scheme to evolve’.

Lisa was appointed of Chair of the South East network of ATCM in 2018.

Outgoing Chair, Leigh Brown, said: “Lisa’s rise up the ranks is not a surprise. She’s displayed great ability as a place manager and has all the right ingredients to take that leadership to an international level through ATCM.

Lisa said: “I am delighted to be given the opportunity to support ATCM in a leadership role. One of the things that really excites me about the organisation is its openness to place management in all its forms whether private sector, public sector or community driven. This openness makes it a breeding ground for innovation which we will need to capitalise on to ensure, as a network, we can weather the storm of the pandemic and look forward to better times ahead.

“My involvement with the ATCM also puts Canterbury in the spotlight and ensures we benefit from the creative ideas emerging in other places.

“I look forward to working with members, partners and policy-makers to ensure our high streets, towns and city centres have a better tomorrow to look forward to.”

It is the first time that ATCM will be led by a BID, something which CEO, Ojay McDonald, welcomes. “When I took over as CEO, I made a promise to ensure ATCM is led by its members, allowing the Board to be our eyes and ears. It is great to have a BID lead ATCM for the first time. 

“Not only do we need to ensure the struggles BID’s are facing during the coronavirus crisis are recognised at Board level, but like ATCM, BID’s have diverse memberships they need to support. The synergy in the business models suggests to me that Lisa will take to the new role seamlessly.”

Lisa will be supported by multi-sector representation on the Board. ATCM is also delighted to welcome new Board members Kenny Brew, City Centre Streetscene Manager, Liverpool City Council (and Chair of ATCM North West), Catherine Davis, Economic Initiatives & Marketing Coordinator at Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (and Chair of ATCM Yorkshire, Humber and North East) and Vaughan Allen, CEO of CityCo Manchester and Manchester BID (and Chair of the ATCM Cities Network).