Dove flies into top role at coalition

By Ben Cook, Third Sector Online, 7 December 2007

The Social Enterprise Coalition has appointed Claire Dove, chief executive of Liverpool-based social enterprise the Blackburne House Group, as its new chair. She will replace Baroness Glenys Thornton.

Dove has been a trustee on the coalition’s board for more than a year, where her role has involved helping to shape the direction of social enterprise policy at a national level.

Jonathan Bland, chief executive of the coalition, described Dove as a “successful businesswoman and dedicated pioneer of the movement”.

“Claire’s achievements in Merseyside are tangible proof of how markets can be used to serve communities,” he said. “The coalition will be drawing on her wealth of experience to continue the fight to place social enterprise at the heart of the economy.”

Dove said: “In the 80s, I used social enterprise to help break the barriers to women accessing careers in male-dominated markets. Now I want to use those skills to help social enterprises gain the access to all markets they deserve and close the current gap between political rhetoric and the reality on the ground.”

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