The post of Vice Lord-Lieutenant is appointed by the Lord-Lieutenant at his discretion, subject to the approval of The Sovereign. The Vice Lord-Lieutenant undertakes to assist the Lord-Lieutenant in the performance of his duties, also standing in when the Lord-Lieutenant is absent, sick or otherwise unable to act. The Vice Lord-Lieutenant for The West Midlands is Mrs Louise Bennett OBE.

Louise is the President of Warwickshire College University Centre, a (voluntary) post she has held since October 2022 (three year term).

She was the High Sheriff of the County of the West Midlands in 2021. Louise is the newly appointed Chair of the High Sheriff Nominations Committee for the West Midlands. She also sits on the High Sheriff Association’s Council of England and Wales and is a Trustee of Crimebeat (a charity supported by the High Sheriff Association).

Louise is the former Chief Executive of Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, a post she held from February 2003 to December 2022. Her career has spanned both the private and public sectors including working for the National Health Service and in the retail sector. She has undertaken lecturing on Masters in Business Administration and has run her own small business.

In 2007, Louise was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s birthday honours list for her services to business.

Louise has a 1st Class Honours Degree in Business; a Masters in Business; is a qualified Human Resource practitioner and a qualified Level IV Counsellor & Psychotherapist.

With a strong commitment to young people she has voluntarily served on School Boards, College Boards and a University Board and is a Careers & Enterprise Advisor in the West Midlands.

As approved Foster Carers, Louise and her husband welcome young people into their home with the aim of providing a safe environment, warmth, support and a real commitment to raising young people’s aspirations in life. For more than a decade, Louise and her family have fostered a number of children from across the West Midlands.

Louise and her husband have a love of the outdoors, have a passion for animals including their horses, ponies and dogs and own a smallholding. They also enjoy riding and own a number of motorcycles.

Louise was appointed as Vice Lord-Lieutenant in September 2023 for a term of three years.