John Barnett
SAP Board Member
John started his career as an Apprentice in 1983 and worked his way through the Engineering and Manufacturing routes to become Senior Vice President of Global Manufacturing for Marelli (formerly Calsonic) – a Top 5 Global Automotive company, and one of the major employers in the region.
John has always had a passion for skills and education – taking every opportunity in his career up to MBA level, and believes everyone should be afforded every opportunity in Education. He has been a Governor of Sunderland College since 2016, and since 2019 the Chair of Sunderland college following the formation of Education Partnership North East.
After taking a planned early retirement in 2020, John now continues with his roles in the North East LEP, EPNE etc, as well as passing on his knowledge in Automotive and Business lecturing at Leeds University.
Despite many years of Business Travel, John has always lived in the North East (born, bred and proud of it), is married to Claire and has two grown up children.
