Fulmar chief executive Taylor stepped up his role on the South Eastern Regional Board to become chairman. "I got suckered into it. You know what a soft touch I am," he joked.

Taylor said that he had left the BPIF in the 1980s when he was "pretty upset" at the lack of a national consensus, but rejoined during the 1990s when "as a larger business we decided we needed the BPIF's support."

Clark, managing director of Southernprint and BPIF Employers Panel chairman, has become a non-executive director on the federation's board of directors.

"I have worked closely with BPIF in the past it's a real pleasure now to have the opportunity to play a more integral role," he said.