New Lay Appointments for ASA Council

15 October 2004

The Chairman of The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), Lord Borrie, QC, has appointed two new members to join the ASA Council - Jean Coussins, Chief Executive of The Portman Group and Sunil Gadhia, a partner at City law firm Stephenson Harwood. They start work next month.

Jean Coussins was a Director at the Commission for Racial Equality before joining The Portman Group in 1996. She is also a member of the Cabinet Office Strategy Unit's Alcohol Advisory Group. Established by the UK's leading alcoholic drinks producers, The Portman Group aims to promote sensible drinking and help prevent the misuse of alcohol. Its Code of Practice, which is consistent with the CAP Code, ensures the responsible promotion of alcohol and also covers the naming and packaging of alcoholic products.

Sunil Gadhia is Finance Partner in the Commercial Litigation Department at Stephenson Harwood, one of the top 25 largest law firms in the country. He joined Stephenson Harwood in 1988 and became a partner in 1997, and has responsibility for all business planning and budgeting issues within his department. Sunil Gadhia serves on the Legal Services Committee of the RCJ Advice Bureau at the Royal Courts of Justice and manages Stephenson Harwood's involvement in the provision of free legal advice services at Camden Law Centre.

The new Council members will take over from Harry Rich, Business Director at the Design Council and Diane Yeo, Executive Director of RefAid, who are retiring from Council having served the maximum six years.

Commenting on the appointments, Lord Borrie said: "I am delighted that I have been able to make two such strong appointments to the Council from a very strong field of applicants. I have no doubt that Jean and Sunil will make a valuable contribution to the work and decisions of the ASA Council."