After 6 years in post as the charity’s Chief Executive Officer and 17 years with the organisation, Liz Bates will leave her post on the 7th June 2019.
Liz said “It has been a privilege to work with such a fantastic team of staff and volunteers over the past 17 years and I have learned a huge amount from everyone I’ve worked with in that time. I feel very fortunate to have had an opportunity to lead such a wonderful organisation and I know it will go from strength to strength in the future.”
Liz has led the charity in delivering multi million pound capital projects that have taken historic buildings in urgent need of repair and secured new uses that have been of great benefit to local communities. The creation of high quality learning and volunteering opportunities has also been a major achievement during her time in post, delivering on the charity’s core objectives. As an experienced fundraiser and historic buildings specialist, she has developed the focus of the charity to one that puts people and places in Lincolnshire at the heart of the organisation’s ethos.
There are now 35 members of staff and over 300 volunteers at the charity and over £1 million is raised annually through commercial income, grants and donations to deliver a wide range of activities that focus on the rich and diverse heritage of Lincolnshire.
Simon Erskine Crum, Chair of the Board of Trustees, said, “The whole of Lincolnshire should be grateful to Liz for what she has done for our heritage, our tourism and our prosperity. We are very sad to see Liz go, we thank her for all that she has done and we wish her well for her future career. Our loss is South Kesteven’s gain and I know that Liz will continue to contribute to the promotion and encouragement of not only Lincolnshire’s inheritance but that of the whole country.”
Simon Johnson, whose services are being provided on a consultancy basis by Welton House Ltd, will take on the role of Interim CEO for a short time and will assist the Board of Trustees in the recruitment of the next permanent CEO for the organisation. Welton House Ltd is an independent corporate finance, commercial property and management consultancy business.
Simon Johnson said “We are delighted to have been offered the opportunity to assist the Trustees of Heritage Lincolnshire in keeping the ship on a steady course, while they undertake the challenging task of finding its next captain.”
Liz leaves to join the team at InvestSK – South Kesteven’s economic growth and regeneration company – as Assistant Chief Executive Officer, where she will be bringing her skills in heritage, regeneration and place-making in addition to her experience in managing a dynamic and enterprising organisation.