Managing director of Nottingham based firm Gemini PR & Marketing Dianne Allen was elected president at the club’s recent AGM.

Dianne has been a member of the club for several years and on the club council for the past five years, becoming vice president last year and then succeeding Steve Potts as president.  Jonathan English of Skeleton Productions was elected vice president, James Simmonds of UHY Hacker Young, treasurer and Mark Dyer of G.E.T Management, secretary.

Dianne has been an active member of the local business community for many years.  After heading up the marketing and PR function for PricewaterhouseCoopers in the East Midlands, she set up Gemini in 1990, making it one of the longest established marketing and PR firms in the city.   She also sits on the CBI’s East Midlands Regional Council and is a director of the Nottingham Club.

Nottingham City Business Club is the oldest business club outside London, having been set up in 1924.  It has a thriving membership drawn from a cross section of businesses across the city with around 70 people generally attending the monthly lunches held at the Park Plaza Hotel on Maid Marian Way.

The aims of the club have remained the same throughout its history – to promote and discuss all matters pertaining to the business and social interests of its members and to hold lunches to which prominent guests are invited to speak on matters of commercial interest.  It is currently sponsored by Mazars.

Over the years the club has attracted many high profile speakers including the chairman of Marks & Spencer, the Duke of Bedford and Eleanor Roosevelt.  More recently there have been speakers from Paul Smith, Rolls Royce, Tramlink, the Nottingham Business Improvement District, Nottingham City Council, the CBI, Nottingham Forest and Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club.

The next series of speakers are Alex Gourlay, chief executive of the Health & Beauty division of Alliance Boots on 21 June, Pamela Wright, Bank of England Deputy Agent for the East Midlands on 19 July, Martin Dalby, chief executive officer of Center Parcs on 20 September and Mark Blakeway, director of North Midland Construction plc on 18 October.

The guest speaker for the club’s Christmas lunch on 13 December will be politician, author, TV & radio presenter and comedian Gyles Brandreth

“I look forward to leading the club over the coming 12 months and building on the success it has achieved to date,” said Dianne.  “I am keen to broaden the membership to include a wider mix of businesses as well as representatives from the public sector.  I would also like to see the club enjoying a higher profile and give our members more of a voice in the city.”