AS I travel around the region meeting great examples of our entrepreneurial spirit and drive, I am often struck by how little I have heard about them beforehand, writes James Ramsbotham.

In the North-East, we have a list of regional achievements that would make any region in Europe proud, such as our export record, which is, without doubt, second to none.

However, I firmly believe we could do more to promote these successes as a collective force.

There is much good work done, but, as a region, we ought to be harnessing examples of great business successes to build an effective brand on the national and international stage.

We have had our fair share of devastating news with the closure of the Teesside steel works and this has cast a long shadow over how our region is perceived in many quarters.

One of our missions is to help promote our successful businesses and shine a light on the hundreds of inspiring companies, some of who have been created by former steel employees.

There is a very powerful message to be told to the world outside our region about our many groundbreaking innovations by companies such as PolyPhotonix at NetPark, in Sedgefield, County Durham, and AES Digital Solutions, in Billingham, which exports its software solutions around the globe.

If every business trumpeted one success story a month the impact on our regional image would be tremendous.

We heard the impact of the Tour de France at our Tees Valley AGM and that scale of ambition is definitely here we just need to find our own equivalent to act as a promotional catalyst.

I think it is fair to say the national media’s urge to find someone with a cloth cap and a whippet when they come here to cover stories has somewhat abated, but I don’t see them beating a path to our door to look for groundbreaking tech companies of which we have plenty, particularly in Tees Valley.

With the opportunities now open with devolution in both parts of our region lets start this brave new world with a real PR push to talk about what is great here and how we are grabbing opportunities for growth with both hands.

There is a saying that ‘shy bairns get nowt’ and we can all ensure we sing loudly about our achievements.

James Ramsbotham is chief executive at the North East Chamber of Commerce