BUSINESS advisor Abdul Majeed Chuchan has taken over as chairman of the 700-member Teesside Society of Chartered Accountants.

Mr Chuchan, 60, who succeeds Paul Grylls, is a partner in Middlesbrough accountancy firm Chuchan & Singh.

Born in Pakistan, he graduated from the University of Punjab, joining Whinney, Murray & Co, now Ernst and Young, as a trainee chartered accountant in 1964. He later spent 20 years at Teesside Polytechnic, becoming head of the accountancy section before going into full-time practice in 1992. Mr Chuchan said: "I would like to motivate more chartered accountants - especially younger members of the profession - to become involved in the Teesside society."

Married with a daughter and two sons, he lives in Nunthorpe and is a member of the Middlesbrough Victim Support Scheme.