The Manufacturers Alliance would like to welcome Victoria Hopkins to the team. Victoria will be Co-Chair of the West Yorkshire Peer Support Group.
Victoria began her career in manufacturing in 1998 when she was asked to help out in her family’s engineering business. What should have been 2 weeks turned into 20 years and her eventually becoming Managing Director and taking turnover from £2 million to £6 million. She also expanded into exports opening a subsidiary of the business in Canada. During her career she has also been Chair of the Manufacturers Alliance Leeds Steering Committee, an apprenticeship Ambassador for the Yorkshire & Humber region on behalf of the National Apprenticeship Service, an Export Champion Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council and she also sits on the Governing Board for the Leeds University Technical College.
Victoria shares her thoughts on joining the Manufacturers Alliance, “I am absolutely delighted to be joining the MA – I have a lot of experience of running an SME business and to be part of a team that is so encouraging of personal and professional development is an honour. I have had an opportunity to join several group meetings and it’s clear that the members are a constant source of support and inspiration for each other’s businesses. I hope that I can bring real value to the West Yorkshire Group through encouragement and support helping them accelerate success – running a business can often feel like a very solitary pursuit and the benefits of being part of such a peer-to-peer organisation cannot be overstated.”
Gary Sheader, Founder and Managing Director at the Manufacturers Alliance welcomed Victoria on board with a few kind words, “we have interviewed a good number of people over the past few months and knew instantly that we had the right person. We have a rigorous recruitment process, as we always want to recruit people that match up to our values and are aligned with our purpose. Victoria is a genuinely caring person that will give it her all to help others achieve success. She’ progressive and keen to see forward momentum and has a wealth of experience having owned and run her own manufacturing business. Welcome to the Manufacturers Alliance team Victoria.”
