Only a few months past his 60th birthday, Neil Chinn died in hospital in Derby on Thursday of last week after a short illness.
He was a top-level executive with a number of leading UK companies and took the highest office in the British’s industry’s trade association, BACTA.
He lived in Newton Solney, near Burton upon Trent, UK, with his wife Pauline. Chinn became an engineer with Burton Coin, an operating company in the early 1980s, a company which was taken over by Associated Leisure.
That became part of BLMS where he ran the group’s Sheffield depot. He worked for BLMS on a number of multi-site accounts for major chains such as Hollywood Bowl.
In 1995 when BLMS sold out its operation to Leisure Link Group he became commercial director.
When Leisure Link became Inspired Gaming and took over Maygay Machines, the manufacturer, Chinn became managing director in 1999. He left four years later to join the Novomatic Group as managing director of Astra Games and was with the South Wales manufacturer until 2009.
He had a short period as managing director of PCP and then took on a range of consultancy roles within the industry, notably with The Ultimate Fun. His BACTA career began when he became vice chairman of Division 4 in 2003, then chairman in 2005.
He became vice president of the association in 2007 and then took over the presidency in 2009. He became a life member of the association in 2011.
At the time of writing no details had yet been announced about the funeral service.
