IAN Pilley has been elected as the new chairman for the Junior Achievement Isle of Man Council.
Mr Pilley is the vice president of Barclays Wealth and has served on the council for the last two years.
Barclays Wealth is one of Junior Achievement's long standing supporters and currently provides around 100 staff members who volunteer for the charity.
They help to provide primary and secondary school pupils with information about entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy.
In 2010-2011 Junior Achievement Isle of Man ran 150 classes in 18 schools reaching more than 4,000 young people.
Speaking about his appointment Mr Pilley said: "As with Junior Achievement's board of directors the council is a strong body of professionals united in their commitment to make their contribution to a charity dedicated to entrepreneurship education and helping secure a better future for the Island's young people.
"The council's primary role is essentially one of governance, lending expertise to provide additional support and, where members deem it prudent, challenging proposals and initiatives.
"In this I am fortunate to be chairing a body that comprises entrepreneurial men and women who hold senior positions in professions that include accountancy, stock broking, human resources, the services sector, law and information technology.
"For my part, as council chairman, I am pleased to be able to apply my skills in change and people management and, from a Barclays Wealth perspective, our business always welcomes the opportunity to further its staff development objectives and strengthen our links with the local community.
"Over the past two year Junior Achievement's chief executive Sue Cook and her team have succeeded in raising the charity's profile and reaching more than 4,000 students.
"Against this background I Iook forward to building on their achievements by working with my fellow council members to develop links with our European counterparts and, at local level, to invite a number of more junior members who have demonstrated outstanding entrepreneurial flair to join the council.
"In so doing I believe there is truly potential for the Isle of Man to become a Junior Achievement centre of excellence."
For more information on Junior Achievement Isle of Man visit www.jaiom.im.
