CBI Wales Appoints New Chair Alison Orrells

1 month ago

We are very excited to announce that our CEO and Managing Director Alison Orrells has been appointed as the new CBI Wales chair!

We are proud to announce that our CEO is the new Chair of CBI Wales. Alison is hugely passionate about business and the very real challenges and opportunities it brings from her own years’ of experiences first hand and is always keen to support and promote Welsh business and the wider UK economy to prosper on a National and International level.

We have become the UK’s Leading Manufacturer of secure information boxes, mailboxes and parcel boxes and have exported to over 22 worldwide with Alison leading the way. She spent nine years as general manager of The Safety Letterbox Company, before her appointment as CEO in 2007. Her father Ian Brown MBE founded the company in 1986.

Alison Orrells, CBI Wales Chair, CEO, The Safety Letterbox Company, said:

I’m excited to Chair CBI Wales. I am acutely aware of the challenges experienced by businesses, in particular SMEs, and how lack of resources can often stifle their growth. My experience of running a business through Brexit, COVID-19, a recession and a cost of living crisis will help firms through uncertain times.

“As one of the few female CEOs in the UK manufacturing sector, I want to challenge the barriers that prevent women from succeeding in business. Equality and diversity are paramount, and I look forward to supporting diversity initiatives such as CBI Wales’s Women in Leadership network.”

Alison has worked many senior management roles for some of the UK biggest retail groups and is a founding board member for Manufacturing Wales and chairs Sketty Hall Business School’s advisory board.

We wish Alison the best of luck in this position and hope to see her thrive in the role.