Congratulations to Ninder Johal on being appointed as a non-executive director of West Midlands 5G Limited (WM5G), a new organisation set up to deliver the UK’s first region-wide 5G testbed.

Ninder is a Deputy Lieutenant of the West Midlands and owner of the Nachural group of companies, specialising in B2B events, media production and a chart-topping record label. With an MBA in finance and marketing from Aston University, Ninder is an experienced managing director and board level director.

He also sits on a number of boards, including the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), the West Midlands Combined Authority, the Accord group housing association, and the West Midlands Growth Company, which is charged with promoting economic generation including working with the Midlands Engine.

Ninder is also chair of the charity Steps to Work, vice chair of Sandwell College, a governor at Wolverhampton University, and a trustee at the Albion Foundation (part of West Bromwich Albion FC). He also still manages to find the time to perform as a tabla player for his band Achanak.

As an active member of the West Midlands business community Ninder is widely recognised for his work for the region. He has taken on the new role for WM5G as he is interested in how it will deliver public and private sector benefits across the healthcare, manufacturing and construction industries.

The board of WM5G believe that Ninder has the necessary entrepreneurial experience and leadership qualities to ensure that the company is successful in bringing improvement to the region through the possibilities available with 5G.

5G services have recently been launched by some leading mobile network operators (MNOs) in the UK. WM5G’s aim is to speed up the deployment of 5G networks and test, prove and scale 5G services across the West Midlands.

WM5G is part of a multi-million pound programme set up by the West Midlands Combined Authority and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to develop the UK’s first region-wide testbed for new 5G applications and services at scale.

The project’s initial focus has been to deploy the necessary infrastructure required for 5G services. WM5G is now working with manufacturers, SMEs, universities and hospitals across the West Midlands on new 5G applications that will help drive economic growth in the region.