The new chair of the Suffolk Business Women (SBW) networking group has praised her predecessor for her achievements.

Ginny Idehen, manager at Suffolk Mind’s Quay Place centre in Ipswich, has taken over from Lina Hogg, co-founder and director of PicassoHR at Henley, near Ipswich, who has stood down after nearly six years as chair.

During that time, membership of SBW has grown from 49 to more than 1,400 and the group has also been incorporated into Suffolk Chamber of Commerce.

Lina said: “As someone who is passionate about ensuring that our society gives everyone an equal chance to realise their potential, I believe that SBW has made a major contribution to informing and inspiring Suffolk’s brilliant businesswomen to do just this.”

Ginny paid tribute to Lina’s “extraordinary achievements in breaking down barriers and inspiring others”. She added: “Lina is herself such an inspiration and I feel very fortunate to be stepping up as SBW’s chair given the organisation’s strong reputation and dynamism which has been built up during Lina’s leadership.”