Louise is driven by a passion for making things work

"I'm interested in how things and places work," says Louise Richardson. "I've always been interested in how some places work better than others and how places are different. Sometimes there is inequality in difference."

For the last 16 years, Louise has been applying her expertise to help local economies work.

She is currently in her second spell in the Inward Investment Team at Warwickshire County Council. She first arrived there in 2000 and returned in 2013 with a great deal of accumulated knowledge and experience - which is exactly what is required in the role that she has just taken on.

In July, Louise began a two-year secondment to manage the council's Business Support Programme. As the programme is heavily driven by the European Regional Development Fund, and the UK has just voted to leave the European Union, it is, to say the least, not a simple role.

But it could not be in better hands.

Louise has the required knowledge of how the bureaucratic wheels turn. And, just as importantly, she possesses the persistence and passion needed to get the very best for the business community of Warwickshire.

That passion was nurtured in the north-west where Nuneaton-born Louise spent five years on Merseyside. She studied Geography and Environmental Studies at Liverpool Hope University then added a post-graduate diploma in Urban Renaissance.

"I really enjoyed my time in Liverpool," she recalls. "I love the city but it often struck me how Manchester was ahead of Liverpool in terms of regeneration. Liverpool always seemed five years behind.

"When I was there, in the 1990s, there was a lot of talk about what Liverpool should do to catch up. And it is great that Liverpool has caught up now. A lot of things that were being talked about then have happened.

"That's brilliant. And that's what I love to see - places evolving and improving."

After completing her degree, Louise returned to Warwickshire in 2000 to join the county council as a graduate Inward Investment Officer.

"That role gave me a good grounding and led to a role as Economic Analyst, deeply involved with the work of both the Planning Strategy and Economic Development teams," she said. "It was interesting work and I learned a lot, but then a job came up at Solihull Council as economic development officer. It was a lot more hands-on, about helping to get people into work. We worked with the Learning and Skills Council and did a lot of work on the Decent Homes Programme with construction companies. We also worked extensively with JobCentre Plus to ensure that the Decent Homes employers fulfilled their pledge to employ local people."

Next came a move to the Coventry, Solihull and Warwickshire Partnership, effectively the forerunner of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (much of the CSW Partnership's work informed the creation of the LEP). Then after four years there, Louise plumped for a different direction - as a Risk Reduction Officer for Staffordshire Fire & Rescue Service.

Based in Tamworth, she spent 18 months involved in educating people about safety: talking to schoolchildren and senior citizens and managing the 15 volunteers who spread that message. It was enjoyable and important work - but all that experience and expertise in economic growth had, and still has, much more to give.

So in 2013 Louise returned to Warwickshire County Council's Inward Investment Team at Barrack Street, her mission: to support business large and small, in all sectors and all parts of the county, to find commercial premises and get the message out, far and wide, that Warwickshire is a brilliant place to do business.

"It is a fascinating job," said Louise. "Warwickshire is such a diverse county with urban, semi-urban and rural areas, some affluent, some non-affluent, all with their own challenges and needs.

"It is difficult to come up with an overall strategy that encompasses all because the business communities within the county are completely different. But we are committed to supporting every element of those business communities. That's what we do."