Professor Paul Baines becomes the new Mayor of Charnwood

Paul Baines, Professor of Political Marketing at the University of Leicester and councillor for Anstey, has been chosen as the new Mayor of Charnwood.

The new Mayor was sworn in as the 48th first citizen of the borough at the Council’s Annual Meeting on Monday 17 May 2021.

Professor Baines will be representing the borough over the next 12 months with his Mayoress, wife Dr Ning Baines.

Speaking today (Tuesday), Professor Baines said: “It is a privilege to serve as the Mayor of Charnwood and I can’t wait to get started in my new role representing the people in the borough.

“Being the Mayor is a fantastic opportunity to find out about the positive difference many people, groups and organisations make to our local communities. It’s also a chance to thank them for their hard work.”

Professor Baines was born in West Yorkshire and spent most of his early life in Bradford and Leeds. He graduated with a first-class Management and Chemical Sciences honour’s degree at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), where he also undertook postgraduate MPhil and PhD in Management degrees.

He began his career in academia at Middlesex University where he founded and ran the Business Development Unit. He also founded the Master’s in Management programme in 2013 and the country’s first Executive MBA Apprenticeship programme in 2017 at Cranfield University.

Serving as a borough councillor for Anstey since December 2018, Professor Baines has served on the Scrutiny Committee, as a member of the Budget Scrutiny Panel, and as Chair of the Commercialisation Scrutiny Panel.

In his spare time, Paul enjoys travelling, watching films and walking up mountains.

Living Without Abuse and Marie Curie have been chosen as the Mayoral charities for 2021-22.