Commonwealth Chamber welcomes new vice-presidents

Greater Birmingham Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce (GBCCC) has appointed two new vice-presidents.

Mark Smith, executive director of business engagement at Aston University, and Janie Frampton, executive chair and head of international relations at the International Socca Federation, will serve alongside the Chamber 's president Joel Blake.

Mark (pictured below) has been a part of the Commonwealth Chamber council since the Chamber 's inception in 2018.

In his role at Aston, Mark is responsible for the university 's business engagement activities and oversees the development of degree apprenticeship programmes.

Aston is a patron of GBCCC, the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce and Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce.

Janie (pictured above) joined the Commonwealth Chamber committee last year. Alongside her role at the International Socca Federation, Janie also serves as director of the Sports Officials Consultancy, patron of Muslim Women 's Network UK and chair of Games and Sports.

She worked for the FA for 10 years as a national referee manager for education and training and as one of eight worldwide female instructors for FIFA.

Joel Blake said: “It is my honour to welcome both Janie and Mark as vice-presidents of the Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce.

“As impactful and inclusive leaders in their own right, they both have global experience, domain expertise and vast knowledge that will add tremendous value as we increase our support for businesses through bilateral trade.

“With the continued support of our formidable committee member team, we all look forward to helping businesses move from a stage of recovery towards growth through our global collaborations and partnership working, alongside preparing for regional opportunities such as the Commonwealth Games and more."

• GBCCC will be hosting its first Commonwealth Opportunities week between 22 and 26 February.
• The week will include several events, and an all-day conference promoting bilateral trade between the West Midlands and Commonwealth countries.

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