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Retirements pave way for new CMJ board members

The Company of Master Jewellers (CMJ) will be looking for members to step into gaps on the CMJ board of directors when Judith Hart and Andrew Pass retire their positions next year.

Speaking in front of a room of retailers and suppliers at the second UK Jewellery Conference, which kicked off yesterday, at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole Hotel, CMJ chairman Stephen Hughes explained that the board members retire by rotation and 2014 will see retail owners Judith Hart and Andrew Pass give up their seats.

The CMJ also announced that it will be announcing a new vice chairman early next year. The CMJ will be seeking new board members from its pool of retail members. When asked what the key attributes are for someone interested in taking up a role on the board of directors, Hughes said commitment to the CMJ and helping its members were essential.

The board also listed its key areas of focus for the year ahead as communication; membership and suppliers; learning and developing; marketing; succession planning and financial success now and in the future.

Additionally, among issues discussed at the opening presentation of the conference, application times were broached. When asked by presenter of the conference, Bill Turnball from BBC Breakfast, about the length of time taken for the CMJ to process applications, board member Michele Whittam said: "Why it takes so long for the applications to be processed is something I asked when I first became a board member and the answer was the volume and the fact we go through a thorough process." However, she added that plans are in place for a more efficient system. "Now the executive team is putting together a plan to speed up the application."

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