SUFFOLK'S Institute of Directors has appointed Nuffield general manager Christopher Johnson as its new sponsorship officer.He will be negotiating sponsorship income to finance the county's events programme for local business owners, and working with other IoD committee members to maximise the benefits to sponsors.

SUFFOLK'S Institute of Directors has appointed Nuffield general manager Christopher Johnson as its new sponsorship officer.

He will be negotiating sponsorship income to finance the county's events programme for local business owners, and working with other IoD committee members to maximise the benefits to sponsors.

He brings a wealth of business expertise, knowledge and contact to the role.

During the last 18 months, he has been involved in the transformation of the Nuffield Group , from a hospitals-only charity into Nuffield Health, the largest healthcare charity in the UK.

Mr Johnson said he was “delighted” to accept the position.

“I hope my years of experience in healthcare encourage new sponsors to get on board so we can raise extra income for IoD events which are invaluable to local businesses,” he said.

Mr Johnson's 25 year career has spanned the three continents of Europe, Asia Pacific and North Africa, and has led to his current position as general manager of Nuffield Health Ipswich Hospital.

His previous positions include president of a medical publishing company in Tokyo, managing director of GlaxoSmithKline in North Africa and marketing director of GlaxoSmithKline in Tokyo. He established and ran his own healthcare consultancy agency in Prague and Warsaw for two years before returning to the UK with his wife and three children in 2006 after 12 years abroad.

As well as being a member of the IoD, he is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing and has a bachelor's honours degree in medical biochemistry and an MBA.

Mr Johnson, who lives in Sudbury, will now be managing and enhancing the database of potential sponsors for IoD in Suffolk.