Honoured : Debbie Francis OBE has been named as the LEP s new chair THE LANCASHIRE Enterprise Partnership has confirmed its new chair. Debbie Francis will be taking charge of the organisation, which works to bring businesses, councils and universities together to promote economic growth across the county. She brings wide ranging experience as a former cities executive for Arcadis UK along with having held several senior roles for Network Rail. “Ms Francis said: “I’m honoured and excited. “In the decade since it was established the LEP has secured more than £750million in capital funding to invest across the county, created or safeguarded over 27,000 jobs, helped build nearly 20,000 homes and supported over 4,600 small and medium sized businesses.