The association elected James at its AGM, which was held yesterday at Farnborough International Venue and Events. She replaces Business Design Centre chief operating officer Graham Stephenson.
"I am delighted to be taking over as chair of the AEV from Graham whom I would like to thank for steering the association through some challenging times. The association has delivered against its targets in the past two years and I am looking forward to working with the AEV Board and all its members to build upon this success," said James.
Also elected to the board were Simon Kent of Harrogate International Centre and Archie Glendinning from Royal Highland Centre, while Graz Kalenik from the Barbican Centre and Steve Brice from The O2 were all re-elected.
In his final role as chair of the AEV Stephenson presented a strong position for the association, at the end of his term as chair, to an assembly of 35 representatives of leading event venues. The back to basics direction from the board at the start of his tenure has given the association a strong financial position, a greater number of venues and individuals participating in double the number of its working groups, and greater visibility in the events community.
HR Working Group announced the next round of the annual AEV Salary Survey and encouraged all venues to participate. It is designed to provide participating venues with salary and benefit benchmarks against roles with their organisations. The survey is only available to participating venues and currently is used by 50% of UK members.AEV director Chris Skeith said: "To have the leading people from the top venues participating in the AGM ensures that it is a successful event. If this needs any further qualification, members travelled considerable distances to attend the meeting, including two who had made the commitment to travel from Scotland to attend and their input was very much appreciated."
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