The board of the newly formed Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey Enterprise (INBSE) met for the first time on Thursday 25th August at the Macdonald Highland Hotel in Aviemore, and welcomed two new board members to the Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) network.

The new local enterprise company (LEC), formed after the redrawing of the boundaries of Inverness and Nairn Enterprise (INE) and Moray Badenoch and Strathspey Enterprise (MBSE) when INE took on the Badenoch and Strathspey area from MBSE, leaving Moray as HIE Moray.

The two new board members Bill Smith, provost of The Highland Council and Helen Carmichael, councillor and Highland representative of the Federation of Small Businesses, join 12 directors from the INE board and Duncan MacKellar, director of MacKellar Subsea Ltd, Basil Dunlop, councillor and Ken MacMillan, a retired trade union representative from the MBSE board.

Bill, born and brought up in Cromore in Lewis and educated at the Nicolson Institute in Stornoway, worked as an inshore fisherman and a Harris Tweed weaver before moving to Glasgow to work with British Railways and study finance. He moved to Inverness in 1972, initially working as an auditor for the British Transport Commission and then operating and owning the Dalneigh Post Office and shop from 1976 until 1997.

He has been an Independent councillor for 21 years, currently serving the Canal ward and previously the Columba and Dalneigh areas.

Helen, from Beauly, began her career in management and sales in the tobacco industry before going on to work for Racal's computer division for eight years. She then became self employed and in 1994 took on the post of recruitment adviser for the Highlands with the Federation of Small Businesses.

Helen is Independent councillor for Beauly and Strathglass and a community councillor as well as being a member of the Local Economic Forum. She is a board member of Young Enterprise Scotland, the local advisory board of Careers Scotland and represents small businesses on an Inland Revenue Panel. She is also former president of Highland Business Women's Club and board member of the Association of Scottish Businesswomen.

Welcoming all the members to the newly formed INBSE board, chairman Ken Mackie said: "I am looking forward to working with the new board members. We have a great team of committed and experienced people and I am particularly looking forward to working alongside the five additional members of the board and the staff at our Aviemore office. Duncan, Basil and Ken have valuable local business and community knowledge for the Badenoch and Strathspey area and Bill and Helen have extensive public and private sector business experience as well as many years spent working with their local communities, and in Helen's case encouraging young people and women into business. I have no doubt that this new board will serve the newly extended enterprise area very well."