BY Helen Kay | Tuesday 10 February 2026
International President appointed for John Cracknell Youth Enterprise Bank
The John Cracknell Youth Enterprise Bank which in its 22 years has issued over 1500 grants to enterprising young people in Hull and East Yorkshire as well supporting Global
Entrepreneurship Week, THUD Yorkshire, the Be Enterprising Group of teachers and the Commonwealth Group of youth enterprise projects has appointed the founder of the Sirolli Institute, Dr. Ernesto Sirolli as its new President.
Dr. Ernesto Sirolli is a titan in the field of community development, with his career beginning in 1971. His work started within the realm of International Aid across various African nations, experiences which inspired him to create the Enterprise Facilitation® model and the Trinity of Management®. These innovations serve as social technology tools that foster economic growth by helping civic leaders, communities, NGOs, and corporations harness the inherent passion, energy, and imagination of their people, thereby creating a sustainable legacy.
Liz Barclay Patron of John Cracknell Youth Enterprise Bank and the IoD Special Adviser
Small Business and Entrepreneurship said: " It is a great privilege that Ernesto has agreed to become our world-wide President, Ernesto is keen to look at working with secondary schools and developing several enterprise facilitators within communities working with JCYEB and MC4C
Advisors.”Dr. Ernesto Sirolli founder of the Sirolli Institute said: "I am honoured to accept the role in 2026 of President of the John Cracknell Youth Enterprise Bank and genuinely pleased to be working alongside the youth enterprise team at Hull City Council, with Charles, the founder of JCYEB, and my friend Tony Robinson OBE from Yorkshire in Business.
What excites me most is the opportunity to work with young people in Hull, particularly through secondary schools , and to help grow local Enterprise Facilitators within the community, working closely with JCYEB and the MC4C Advisors.”
