TWO senior business leaders have joined the board of a strategic body that takes the lead for minority ethnic entrepreneurs in the West Midlands.

It is the first stage in a move to strengthen the West Midlands Minority Ethnic Business Forum, which provides strategic advice to the regional development agency, Advantage West Midlands and other partners.

International businessman, Donald Sin Fai Lam and John Lee, a senior official with the Government Office for the West Midlands, have joined the forum board.

Mr Sin Fai Lam is director of the business services division at the University of Warwick.

Before joining the university, he spent most of his time working as a management consultant and has extensive experience in reviewing, developing and implementing strategies in global companies across a wide range of industries, working in the UK, France, Germany and Mauritius.

Mr Lee is assistant director for economic inclusion and his role is to co-ordinate the work of the West Midlands Economic Inclusion Panel, the strategic body that brings together leaders from the public and third sectors to help tackle issues relating to worklessness and its part in the region’s productivity deficit.

He has 30 years experience of working at a national, regional and local level, leading policy development and the delivery of employment and training programmes to help the long-term unemployed find work.

Mr Lee is on an Advantage West Midlands-funded secondment to the Government Office for the West Midlands from the department of Work and Pensions.

“An independent audit found that the forum does important work but we will not rest on our laurels and are looking to improve what we do,” said Mohammad Nazir, forum chairman.

“The knowledge and experience that Donald and John bring will make an important contribution.”