26 October 2008
UK Businesses Need to Embrace Innovation to Succeed in Economic Downturn
Sainsbury Management Fellows' Society (SMF) is pleased to
announce that Ernie Poku has been named as its new president. Ernie
succeeds Dan Mutadich, who stepped down after two years leading the
organisation.
With a downturn in the UK economy, Ernie has laid out
his vision for SMF over the next few years;
"Engineers at senior level in businesses can help to lead
innovation, change and make companies more resilient in this
increasingly changing global environment. During my tenure, I would
like to establish better links with UKindustry and leading
corporate bodies to raise the profile of the outstanding work of
SMFs.
"SMF has been developing excellence in engineers for over 20
years now and many of the fellows now have a wealth of experience
behind them. They are a knowledgeable source of mentoring and I am
keen to create more opportunities in this area. I would like to
encourage more SMFs to take on non-executive directorships of both
profit and non-profit organisations; leveraging their learning on
the IoD's Chartered Director course which many fellows have
recently completed."
With a successful career and a genuine passion for the
engineering industry, Ernie is well qualified to lead SMF in these
objectives.
After Ernie completed his BEng in Mechanical Engineering
at Bristol, SMF sponsored his MBA at the Rotterdam School of
Management in 1999. Since Ernie has gone on to carve out a very
distinguished career within the engineering field. He is currently
CEO and Founder of Crescent Diagnostics Ltd, a university spin-out
developing a novel test for osteoporosis. University
Commenting on Ernie's appointment, former president Dan Mutadich
says; "Ernie's successes in the field of engineering and influence
within SMF make him a major asset to the organisation. With the
enthusiasm that he brings to the position I have every confidence
that he will continue to grow SMF's influence within the
engineering industry and UK business."
