Newns is the managing director for levelling up at the Office for Investment, a joint unit that sits between Downing Street and the Department for Business & Trade. He is overseeing the office’s regional expansion, as well as seeking to increase transformational investment across the whole of the UK, contributing to government’s levelling up agenda. Previous to the Office for Investment, Newns was chief executive of MIDAS, Manchester’s Inward Investment Agency, for 11 years, where he oversaw the attraction of more than £6bn of investment and 50,000 jobs, making Manchester the leading destination for foreign direct investment in the UK outside London and top 10 globally.