3 New Directors Elected to Chamber Board

Media Release
30 November 2007

Three New Directors Elected to Wellington Regional Chamber Board

John Lumsden, President of the Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce is delighted to announce that three new board members have been elected to the Chamber Board in the recent board elections.

The successful candidates are former Meat Industry Association CEO and computer service company owner Caryll Shailer, Victoria University of Wellington Vice-Chancellor Pat Walsh, and Human Resource guru Richard Stone, Executive Chairman of Powerhouse People.

“The Chamber membership can be well pleased that such high quality candidates were prepared to put their names forward to stand in the election. We are very fortunate to have three such well qualified people join the board. Can I congratulate them on their election, and send best wishes to the candidates that failed to be elected this time around. We are very grateful for their putting their names forward for the election. I hope they are prepared to put their names forward for a future election,” John Lumsden said.

“I am excited to be leading such a strong board. The Chamber is going from strength to strength and has a heavy agenda already set for the year ahead. Skills and people shortages are key problems that need to be addressed. Likewise we need to maximise the potential of the capital’s already strong knowledge based industries. The new additions to the Chamber board are very well placed to assist the Chamber team make progress in these areas in the year ahead,” John Lumsden concluded.

Wellington Regional Chamber of Commerce - New Board Members

Caryll Shailer, Meat Industry Association & PC Wiz 2U
Caryll is keen to contribute further to the region’s success, drawing on her strong background in the SME sector, senior management experience and solid knowledge of New Zealand’s political, economic and social environment including the processes of government and the global trading environment, to assist the WRCC achieve its goals for members.

Caryll is passionate about the economic prospects for the Wellington region and is stepping down from her current role of CEO of the Meat Industry Association, to focus initially, with her husband Gordon, on the Wellington-based ‘home calls for computers’ services firm PC Wiz 2U Ltd. Caryll is actively involved in many professional associations, directorships and in Rotary.

Richard Stone, PowerHouse People
Richard would bring to the Chamber a sound, pragmatic appreciation of the issues, challenges and opportunities the region, and its businesses, face and first-hand experience of the contribution member organisations make to the economic well-being of the region.

Richard brings 22 years in the human resource consulting industry and is currently Executive Chairman of PowerHouse People Ltd, Deputy Chair of UNICEF NZ, and is a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Victoria University Foundation. He is in a unique position to make a contribution with his appreciation of the challenges facing member organisations, and the opportunities offered by their location in the Wellington Region. Richard brings an outstanding network of contacts across Wellington business and government sectors. He is a graduate of Victoria University and has been a committed Wellingtonian for 30 years.

Pat Walsh, Victoria University
Professor Walsh can offer the Chamber a unique perspective on the issues that Wellington’s business community faces from his position as Vice-Chancellor of the city’s major tertiary institution. Victoria is one of the Capital’s largest employers with the university having around 2,000 staff and 22,000 students. Its staff, students and graduates play a pivotal role in the city’s business and public life.

After a distinguished academic career, largely at Victoria, Professor Walsh was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University in 2005 and has led a university through a period of rapid growth. He has also led a process to strengthen ties with a range of Wellington’s businesses, Crown Research Institutes (CRIs) and other organisations.

He recognises that Wellington’s future will be based on knowledge-based industries and on such initiatives as the MacDiarmid Institute and the Malaghan Institute, both of which are hosted by Victoria, and which bring together expertise from across the country for the benefit of the New Zealand as a whole. Between 2006 and 2007 he was Co-Chair of the Wellington Tertiary Education Cluster.

ENDS

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