Chief Executives Message
Ann McGregor
The most significant, and positive, development over the last few years is, of-course, the establishment of a new Executive and Assembly at Stormont. This is not our first attempt but all the signs are that we have laid the foundations for a durable administration in Northern Ireland and, already, we are witnessing a degree of consensus and co-operation which few of us would have thought possible five, or indeed two years ago.
The Executive has produced a Programme for Government and Budget, which illustrates that our elected representatives recognise that a strong, dynamic and flexible economy is crucial to the long-term stability and success of Northern Ireland. This is a message, which the chamber, and our colleagues in the other business organisations in Northern Ireland, have worked to deliver and we can only commend our political leaders for the strategic direction, which they have set for Northern Ireland.
The positive atmosphere, which has been created by the political settlement, has been reflected in the work and developments in the chamber itself.
I believe that the Chamber can take considerable satisfaction from the stability and growth in membership – we have one of the highest membership retention rates in the UK – and in the level of service, which we now deliver to members. Our good working relationship with the British Chambers of Commerce now means that we can offer an unrivalled range of member services and I feel that this augurs well for the future development of chamber membership.
The small team at the chamber has continued to look for ways of improving our services and I have no doubt will continue to do so in the future.
The success, which we have achieved, could not, of course, have happened without the financial support, which we have received, from BT – our main corporate partner – and from our patrons, Royal Mail, Ulster Bank, TR Shipping Services, Grant Thornton, Northern Bank and FG Wilson.
To all of these organisations we offer our sincere thanks.
But most of all we want to thank you, our members, for your continuing help and support. We will continue to do our best to deserve that support.
