THREE new chairmen have been elected to the board of Service Challenge.

Jacquie Potts, principal of Durham-based Marketwise Strategies, is the new chair of the Marketing Sector, succeeding Caroline Metcalf of Yellow M.

John Burns, partner at Newcastle architects and building consultants MacKeller Schwerdt Partnership, chairs the construction and property sector, taking over from Tom Harrison of Turner and Townsend.

David Armstrong, director at Armstrong Davis Associates, in Stokesley, is the first chair of the new engineering service sector.

David Bowles, chairman of Service Challenge, said: "We are currently drawing up a new business plan which will change the emphasis of the organisation, so it is timely that the chairs of three of our sectors should change as the process gets under way."

Service Challenge consists of seven sectors - construction and property; legal, chartered accountants, marketing, human resources, engineering services and information technology. Its role is to raise awareness of the importance of professional services, increase inter-trading between the different professions and facilitate greater collaboration between the region's professional services.