The Institute of Directors (IoD) has appointed Inez Brown to lead its West Midlands region. Inez is one of the leading figures in the region’s legal business community, with 20 years’ experience as a solicitor. She is partner and head of clinical negligence at the Medical Accident Group, part of Harrison Clark Rickerbys.

In July 2020 she was inaugurated as president of Birmingham Law Society, the first black president in its 202-year existence. She has grown the Society’s membership and set up its first diversity inclusion scheme, providing scholarships to students from disadvantaged backgrounds and under-represented groups.

Inez has a long-standing connection with management and governance and was a non-executive director of the Child Brain Injury Trust, the Society of Clinical Injury Lawyers and the SDA Conference Charity.

Inez will be the voice for business in the region, working alongside a regional team to support West Midlands directors by providing connections, world-class professional development and an influential lobbying voice. She will lead members across four branches: Greater Birmingham; Worcester and the Marches; Black Country and Staffordshire; and Coventry and Warwickshire.

She succeeds Brian Hall, upon the successful completion of his three-year term as IoD West Midlands chair.

The IoD supports individuals to become better directors and lobbied to secure vital support during the Covid-19 pandemic, including financial assistance for wage bills and changes to insolvency rules.

Inez said:

“I am honoured to be selected as IoD chair and look forward to representing directors across this fantastic region. The IoD is committed to supporting our members as they recover from the pandemic and lead the economic revival. I am also looking forward to building on my work advocating diversity and inclusion within the workplace, together with providing mentoring and support to junior members of the Institute as we create the skilled directors of tomorrow.”

Natalie Sykes, Head of English Branches, IoD, said:

“Inez is an outstanding leader and we are delighted to welcome her to the IoD. The past few years have been challenging as directors navigated Brexit and the pandemic but we are now looking ahead to supporting our members to thrive. She joins at an exciting time for the IoD, with a renewed focus on empowering our regional teams.”