Chamber President to Continue in Role

Date published: 22 October 2011

Martin Douglas of Cargill PLC has been elected to continue his Presidency of Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce for a second year.

The re-election was announced at the Chamber's AGM which took place last week at The Midland Hotel in Manchester. Phil Cusack of AECOM and Neil Smith of Kinetic PLC were elected to continue as Vice Presidents of the Chamber until next October.

Commenting on his re-election, Martin Douglas, President of Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, said: "I am proud to be able to represent the Chamber as its President for another year. The past 12 months have been challenging at times, but extremely enjoyable and I hope that the Chamber will continue to build on the work it is doing to lobby and influence our political leaders for a better business environment for our members. Our priority must continue to be to help members to trade and we should encourage those established businesses, and those who are suffering least in the current difficult conditions, to help those who are victims of these challenging times."

Chamber Chief Executive, Clive Memmott, said: "Martin's first 12 months have been exemplary in terms of his commitment, enthusiasm and passion for promoting the interests of businesses generally, and of Chamber members. He has a great insight into the issues facing businesses, both large and small, both at home and overseas, and the difficult challenges and opportunities faced by these organisations in a very volatile market."

The Chamber's quarterly Council meeting took place after the AGM and members of the Chamber Council were invited to attend the meeting to receive updates on the progress of the Chamber's ‘Action for Business' work, and discuss its future direction and policy priorities.

The Chamber Council heard updates from Chief Economist at the Chamber, Dr Brian Sloan, on the activity undertaken by the Chamber at the recent political party conferences. He also gave his views on the latest results of the Quarterly Economic Survey, which gave an indication of how businesses across Greater Manchester are currently faring. Guests were also given an update on ENWorks and its services and performance from Programmes Director, Samantha Nicholson.

One of the key themes that emerged from the meeting was the shortage of skills in certain industries and the importance of valuable and informative careers advice for young people. Chamber Skills Adviser, Paul Holme, announced the next steps that the Chamber's Employment & Skills Committee will be working towards, which include supporting and encouraging businesses to work with schools and providing more work experience placements.

For more information about the work of the Chamber's Employment & Skills Committee, e-mail paulholme30@btinternet.com