He steps up from his role as deputy chair of the region where he was in charge of Lincolnshire following Jeremy Scorer’s resignation.
Kheng will be acting chair until next Spring, when the committee will vote on who will take over the role for a three-year period.
He has also taken over Scorer’s place on the BII’s National Awarding Qualifications and Advisory Board.
Kheng, who is also the East Midlands representative for National Pubwatch, told the Publican’s Morning Advertiser that Scorer resigned due to “personal reasons” but said he will remain a member of the BII.
He added that he will not be applying for the role of national chairman at the BII, but said he was “honoured” to take on the regional title and has “very big footsteps to follow”.
“The BII is undergoing a huge transition so I will be there to deal with that and to support members of the East Midlands region,” he said.
Jeremy Scorer was chairman of the region – which covers Northamptonshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Rutland - for nine years.
A statement posted on the BII East Midlands Facebook page yesterday reads: “[Scorer] threatened to resign a number of times but was committed to ensuring that BII made its way through the recent turmoil and transition safely.
“He has been a major influence on not only the regional changes but also at National Committee level keeping things on an even keel and helping to manage the process of change. His contribution to BII has been phenomenal and I hope that the National Committee recognise and reward that fact. We at Regional Committee certainly recognise his hard work and efforts. We wish him all the best in his future roles.”