Azeem Akhtar installed as new Essex chair

Following the appointment of eight new board members, Azeem becomes the long-term successor to John Faragher

Essex have appointed Azeem Akhtar as their new club chair.

John Faragher's permanent successor is installed after becoming one of eight new board members voted in at last week's Annual General Meeting.

Azeem has a wealth of sporting experience, having spent six years as chair of Active Essex and three on the board of Sport England.

In 2016, he was named in the UK’s Top 100 Most Influential BAME Business Leaders and is currently Lead Customer Chief Technology Officer at BT Global.

^{Former chair John Faragher resigned last November (Steve Bardens/Getty Images)}

"I am extremely proud to be elected as the chair of Essex county cricket club," he said.

"From someone who is born and raised in Essex and a lifelong supporter of the club, I understand the importance of this great club to members, supporters, commercial partners and the wider community.

"I'm looking forward to working with the newly formed Board and taking positive steps for the future of the club.

"Our ultimate aim is to make Essex the premier red and white ball cricketing county in England, whilst continuing to enhance and grow the game through our fantastic work in the community."

Chief executive John Stephenson, the ex-interim chair, said: "Azeem was the standout candidate from a very strong field of potential candidates for the position of chair.

^{CEO John Stephenson (Christopher Lee/Getty Images)}

"Aside from his strong all-round skill set, since childhood, he has been a regular visitor to The Cloud County Ground being a lifelong Essex fan. He will bring vast experience and his passion for Essex cricket and I’m looking forward to working with him and the newly formed board.”

Azeem was appointed to the Essex board by the nomination committee, alongside Sir Stephen O'Brien and Queenie Porter.

The other five vacancies were filled by a ballot. They include Simon Cooper, Chris Townsend, Anu Mohindru KC, Jo Faragher and Victoria Keil.

The raft of changes behind the scenes comes at a challenging time for Essex off the field.

A Katharine Newton KC-led independent investigation into historic allegations is due to be released in December - it was delayed by the non-compliance of several of those accused - 13 months on from being commissioned.

^{Jahid Ahmed is due to appear in front of the DCMS committee next month (Tom Shaw/Getty Images)}

On December 13, Jahid Ahmed will give evidence to the DCMS committee over his treatment at Essex. The session is protected by parliamentary privilege, meaning he cannot be sued.

He told The Cricketer last year he was referred to as a "curry muncher" and felt "bullied" by a senior coach while at Essex, where he played between 2005 and 2009.

Maurice Chambers and Zoheb Sharif have also spoken of the treatment they received while at Chelmsford.

Currently, the club have only been fined £50,000 by the Cricket Discipline Commission after former chair John Faragher was found to have used a racial slur during a February 2017 board meeting. The ECB also placed them in a non-compliance process for failing to reach board diversity targets.