Five join Press Club board of directors

BIRMINGHAM Press Club has strengthened its board of directors with the appointment of five leading figures from the business and media sectors.

Joining the board of the world’s oldest press club is Paul Faulkner, chief executive of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, BBC broadcast journalist Kevin Pashby, PR agency director Clive Reeves, Anita SharmaJames, founder of cookery school The Spice Trade, and Marc Reeves, editor-inchief of Trinity Mirror Midlands which publishes the Birmingham Post and Mail.

These new appointments follow the election as club chairman of Llewela Bailey, host of BBC WM’s Sunday Breakfast Show and a journalism lecturer at Staffordshire University.

Ms Bailey said: “At a time when the media industry generally is facing a challenging period, we are very happy to welcome on board new directors whose expertise and experience will be instrumental as we progress our own future.

“We have also been encouraged by the recent decision of HSBC to sponsor the club for a three-year period – a decision that will ensure the continuation of the prestigious Midlands Media Awards.”

Mr Faulkner will bring business experience to the press club from his time as chief executive of Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest football clubs and his current role with the chamber of commerce.

Clive Reeves launched his eponymous PR agency in 2010 and counts Park Regis and Selfridges among his clients, while Ms Sharma-James is an author and former medical research scientist who set up her own Indian cookery school a decade ago in Bromsgrove. She has also sat on the press club’s events committee for several years.

Marc Reeves’ remit was recently expanded and he now has responsibility for a range of titles in the West and East Midlands in his role as editor-in-chief.

Mr Pashby, who started his career in journalism as a trainee reporter at radio station BRMB, is now producer of BBC WM’s Danny Kelly mid-morning show.