airport boss

Business guru René Carayol (centre) is welcomed to the Management Month business summit by Management and Leadership Network board members Brian Ambrose (left), chief executive of George Best Belfast City Airport, and Denis Rooney, chief executive of White Young Green Ireland. "The Ulster economy 'will suffer unless management practice is improved'

Northern Ireland's future economic growth could be stunted by a management and leadership deficit in the province, it has been claimed........

George Best Belfast City Airport chief executive Brian Ambrose insisted urgent action is needed to improve management capabilities here.

Mr Ambrose was speaking at a business summit in the Culloden Hotel, Cultra, which was the final event of Management Month, an initiative organised by the Management and Leadership Network aimed at stimulating investment by businesses in management and leadership capabilities as part of their business growth strategies.

He pointed out: "Whilst the Northern Ireland economy continues to perform well, with employment at a record high, we still need to double our economic performance to come close to matching our counterparts in the south of Ireland, for example.

"We are deluding ourselves if we think that we can continue to rely on the public sector to sustain our economic activity without small to medium enterprises investing in management and leadership capabilities essential for higher growth and profitability," he added.

After noting that nearly three-quarters of Ulster enterprises have fewer than five employees, Mr Ambrose said the management and leadership deficit needs to be closed if small to medium enterprises are to be the source of increased economic activity in the province.

The main speaker at the event was international leadership and business transformation expert René Carayol.

"Northern Ireland is certainly leading the UK in its innovative approach to promoting the bottom line benefits of investing in leadership and management capabilities," he told the 250 delegates.

"I have high expectations that businesses across Northern Ireland will embrace the fact that management skills are at the heart of every successful company."