New chair and vice chair appointed to AEV Board.

The Association of Event Venues (AEV) has announced two key appointments to the AEV board, naming Graham Stephenson, COO of Business Design Centre as the new chair, and Jeremy Rees, executive director ExCeL London as the new vice chair.

Rachel Parker, AEV director, welcomed Stephenson and Rees to their new positions, “Both Graham and Jeremy have demonstrated their commitment to championing the needs and concerns of venues as vice-chair and board member respectively, and I'm looking forward to working with them in their new roles.”

Stephenson, a former chair and vice chair of the association, will be picking up the baton from Nigel Nathan, the outgoing chair of the AEV board and group managing director of Olympia, London. Rees will take over from Stephenson as vice chair.

Stephenson paid tribute to Nathan's work as chair saying, “Nigel has worked tirelessly for the association, building on its mission to provide leadership in the global event venue market. I'd like to thank Nigel for his sterling work over the last two years providing advice, leadership and direction to the association.”

Rees echoed Stephenson's comments, saying, “Nigel's tenure as chair has spanned an interesting time for the industry. His expert guidance and commitment to the association have been instrumental in defining how we have met the challenges and managed the changes that have affected our members. I am looking forward to working with Graham on his return to the chair, and ensuring the association continues going from strength to strength."

The board also welcomed new members, Andy Gibb, managing director of Ricoh Arena and Alison Griffin, sales & marketing director of The International Centre, Telford, and announced the re-election of board members Tim Banfield, commercial director at ACC Liverpool, Grahame Jones,  chief operating officer at FIVE (Farnborough International) and Simon Kent, director at Harrogate International Centre.