East London based Club Asia radio is losing one of its founding directors – John Ogden – for a senior post at another London station. He will take up the post of station manager at Spectrum Radio, which broadcasts in several languages for a multicultural audience.

Mr Ogden’s loss will come as a serious blow to the station because he has been widely credited within the industry to ensuring Club Asia remained a tightly run ship. He had been with the station’s founders – sisters Humerah Khan and Sumerah Ahmad – from the start. He previously worked under Mohammed Al Fayed running London’s Liberty Radio and has held senior positions in the BBC and commercial radio.

He said: “Club Asia has been the most rewarding and important experience of my career. It had to be something very special for me to leave such an radio station and such a marvellous and talented group of friends. For some time now I have said that I wanted to run a station targeting London’s new demographics. I have been offered a unique opportunity to do that. I am sad to leave because Club Asia is such an important part of the London scene.”

Humerah and Sumerah said his input into the station had been “essential” and his experience a “perfect compliment to our ambitions to create the best radio station.” They added: “Whilst we have turned an important chapter in Club Asia’s history it is far from the end of the story, we look forward to sharing exciting times ahead and welcome the time when we will work together again.”

John Ogden will replace Paul Hogan, who left the station in January this year, in a month’s time.

Public relations manager Pedro Carvalho, who worked at Spectrum Radio in the past and now runs the agency FNIK, told AIM magazine he was puzzled at the move.

“John must be being paid a hell of a lot to leave Club Asia so that he can go and run a station who are not in Rajar and have very low listenership according to its Rajar figures many years ago (47,000 per week Dec 2001). I just don’t understand why he would leave Club Asia, a station that’s making waves to one that has really not made any impact for the last few years.”

He added: “Having worked there for many years myself, I can say that Spectrums days of 400,000 listeners per week are way gone where as Club Asia have it all to achieve – I really hope John has something up his sleeve. All the best matey!”