"I am honoured to have joined LEEA in this exciting period of growth and look forward to working with the LEEA team as well as getting to know our members," said Barber. "I will be bringing my experience of membership engagement to our approach in ensuring a safer world when using lifting equipment."
Barber's role is to ensure LEEA members continue to receive excellent support and guidance in an ever changing world. “It is crucial that we speak and engage with our members on a continual basis, as they are the ones who are at the forefront of this industry,” he stated. “By creating more channels for our members to interact with LEEA, we can work to increase the awareness of our vision globally and grow our membership.” Highlighting how advancing technology is leading to ever-changing legislation, standards and practices, he added. “We need to ensure that our members have knowledge of and access to training for their staff.”
Starting out as a PE teacher after graduating with a Master’s degree in 2006, Barber took on business development roles before joining the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), where he worked over the last 10 years. In his most recent role there he led a large team of Account Managers focused on supporting large engineering organisations to upskill their engineers and technicians against a globally recognised competency framework.
LEEA's vision attracted Barber. "It's compelling to work for an Association that seeks to eliminate accident, injury and fatalities," he explained. "To know that the work done day in, day out supporting members has such an impact on the industry and the people within it is very motivational. The leadership team at LEEA clearly demonstrated this during my interview process, and I was very encouraged by how engaged and forward thinking the board are. My own personal values are a great match with the growth plans ahead."
Surveying the key issues from his new position, Barber said: “Safety, inspection, examination and ethical best practice is of vital importance in the various industries that LEEA supports."
"We must ensure that the LEEA brand is recognised globally, so our members can have confidence in showcasing their affiliation when working with their customers. We want LEEA membership to be recognised as globally applicable and beneficial, with many great reasons to join our Association. While growing our membership and making our processes more efficient, it is also important that we maintain our gold standard credibility,” he said.
As part of the executive management team, Barber will be working closely with LEEA CEO Ross Moloney, who commented: "We are delighted to welcome Matt to our leadership team as an important part of our strategic development of LEEA. He will be able to provide strong support and representation to our members on a global basis, which continues as a fundamental aim of the Association."
