THE Kent Association of Young Entrepreneurs (KAYE) has appointed a new chairman.

Jo Ostermeyer, a 31-year-old chartered accountant and one of the team leaders in the audit and business consulting department at Creaseys in Tunbridge Wells, says she is looking forward to the challenge of taking KAYE into its second year.

She said: "The previous chairman, Alex Ridings, did a fantastic job in getting KAYE off the ground, and that is a tough act to follow.

"Some of the biggest challenges for young professionals are overcoming perceptions of age and inexperience.

"We understand this and are committed to building people’s skills, experience and confidence. Young people have a valuable role to play in new business.”

KAYE is an initiative aimed at encouraging the young business talent of the future, and is backed by the Kent branch of the Institute of Directors.

Alyson Howard, chairman of the Kent branch of the IoD, said: "KAYE is fully supported by IoD Kent.

"Jo is the perfect choice to lead, carrying on the hard work from Alex, in continually building a successful platform offering business advice, developing ideas, and creating networking and marketing opportunities."

The new chairman will head a team of seven committee members who own businesses or are company professionals.

Jo was born and brought up in Maidstone and attended the University of Kent in Canterbury, has been working for Creaseys for more than eight years.

For more information on joining KAYE, which costs £25 per year, contact Debbie Cameron at the IoD on 01732 849570, email iod.kent@iod.com.