Honorary degree for business chief

A WELL-known Warrington business figure is to receive an honorary degree at the University of Chester’s graduation day on Friday.
Colin Daniels, chief executive of Warrington Chamber of Commerce and chairman of Warrington Collegiate will be honoured with the degree of Doctor of Business Administration, honoris causa.
Nearly 900 students will also be receiving their degrees at the ceremony at Chester Cathedral.
Mr Daniels is being recognised for his outstanding contribution to the university as a member of the university council and as chief executive of Warrington Chamber of Commerce.
Chairman of the Corporation of Warrington Collegiate since 1989, he has taken a very proactive and strategic role, including the complete re-building of the college. He played a significant role in the successful transfer of the Collegiate’s Higher Education provision to the University of Chester in 2002.
Mr Daniels served continuously on the board of the Colleges National Association, now the AOC, and was chairman of the National Employment Committee and the National Joint Forum for Further Education until 2002. He was one of the joint architects of the introduction of the flexible employment contract for the Further Education Sector. He is a former member of both the Further Education Governors National Council and the National Self-Regulation Group for Further Education.
He is a Senior Council Member of the University of Chester and a former member of the Court of the University of Salford.  From 1978 until 2012 he was chairman of Governors of his village school, which featured in the top 8 per cent of schools in the UK. He served on Cheshire County Council’s education committee from 1994 to 1999.
A past President and Treasurer of the Warrington and District Association of the National Builders Federation, and a former member of the North West Regional Council of the National Federation of Building Trade Employers, he is a Life Member of the National Builders Federation.
He is chairman of Warrington 2000+ Ltd, which owns and operates two office developments which act as start-up and incubator units.  He is deputy chairman of Warrington & Co (Regeneration) Ltd, which actively promotes the economic expansion and inward investment of Warrington.
Mr Daniels is chief executive of Warrington Chamber of Commerce and Industry that serves Warrington and Vale Royal, and chairman of Cheshire Chambers Enterprise Ltd, which serves the sub-region of Cheshire and Warrington. A director of Chambers of Commerce North West Ltd, he co-ordinates the work of the 16 Chambers of Commerce in the North West Region. He was very involved in the establishment of the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Council and is directly involved in a number of important sub-groups including enterprise, international trade and skills development.
Mr Daniels was both a borough councillor and parish councillor from 1977 to 1986, leader of the Conservative Group and chairman of the parish council.
In 1992 he was a Parliamentary Candidate at the General Election and, for five years, chairman of the Warrington South Conservative Association.
He served with the Royal Artillery in BAOR (British Army of the Rhine). His charitable work has included Cancer Macmillan Nurses, Ryfields Retirement Village and as a trustee of the Warrington Charities Trust.
Mr Daniels said: “I am delighted to receive such an honour.”