Women on Boards’ Post

For the past few years I have been a volunteer judge with the Auckland Business Chamber annual awards. To be perfectly honest, I do it mainly for selfish reasons in that; 1. I get to see amazing New Zealand businesses that are outside of the sector in which I work. How often do we only consider our sector when looking at different perspectives and innovative ways of doing things? How much can we learn from each other if we take the time to meet (I recognize that most small business owners don't have the luxury of time as they are working so hard on the businesses) ? 2. I get to meet incredibly inspirational people and hear their stories. It has made me aware of the passion, risk and sacrifice that each small business owner invests in their dream, and reminds me of the challenges that they face on a daily basis. 3. It reminds me of how many talented individuals we have in New Zealand and how we could continue to have great businesses that compete on a global stage with more investment in the small business sector. To every small business owner, you have my respect, and to the Auckland Business Chamber for arranging the awards and 2degrees for sponsoring the awards - keep up the great work as our small businesses deserve more recognition for their contribution to our economy.

As we close the chapter on 2023, let's pause and celebrate our growth and the milestones we've achieved. 🌟 🏆 Reflect on your top three business successes this past year. How will these accomplishments energise your journey into 2024? Comment below with your triumphs, and let's share in the collective spirit of progress and anticipation for what the next year holds! Liz Chilton - BNI Pavilion Northampton - BNI UK & Ireland - Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce #BusinessReflections #YearInReview #FutureFocused #One44BusinessDevelopment

Great to see the team at Falkirk recognized as one of Canada's Top Growing Companies in 2023. Coming in at #79 of the top 425 companies in Canada. Falkirk was started in 2019 with the goal of supporting meaningful change and creating value for our clients and the communities in which we work in everything we do. Our growth and development over the last 3 and a half years has been significant. In addition to being part of this impressive The Globe and Mail group, some of our recent updates and achievements include: 1. Organizationally, we have updated our management team's roles and responsibilities recently. This includes Jennifer Turner taking on the role of President and CEO, Michael McPhie, Executive Chairman, Max Brownhill, Chief Operating Officer, Christy Smith-Hadath, Senior Vice President and Natalie Tashe MSc, MCPM, PAg, Vice President, Strategic Initiatives. Kate Mueller, P.Eng and Apurva Gollamudi have also been promoted to the position of Director and Practice Lead. Also, Erik Skeries, Jonathan Love, Nikolay Sidenko, Ryan Burgess, P.Eng, Shawneen Walker, Kellie Leedham, Paula Salter, Jake Stemeroff and Connor Paone were named as team leads. 2. Creation of a Water Stewardship Group led by Apurva Gollamudi that is becoming recognized as one of the top water teams working in the resource sector in the country. 3. Creating new practice areas within our highly regarded Indigenous engagement service group led by Christy Smith-Hadath. These include Community Health and Well Being and Human Environment. 4. Expanding and focusing our Approvals, Compliance and Sustainability Practice area that is led by Kate Mueller, P.Eng. We are directly involved in the permitting, EA's, compliance and/or Indigenous engagement efforts at over 80% of all operating mines and mineral development projects in BC. And, we have an expanding list of clients with projects across Canada, in the Yukon and the USA. 5. Creating a new Practice area focused on securing funding for projects, government affairs, public policy and Indigenous and community economic development. Stay tuned for more on this in the weeks ahead. 6. Growing our team from 4 in 2020 to over 40 today. 7. On behalf of our client, Osisko Development Corp., leading the team associated with first major project in the province through the new British Columbia Environmental Assessment process (spoiler alert* - a final decision by the Minister's is expected in the very near term). and much much more... It has been a great few years and this latest acknowledgement is testament to that. We are excited about the future and the amazing companies, organizations and communities we have the privilege of working with. https://lnkd.in/gyK6upDm

One week left to nominate businesses in #WaterlooRegion for the Greater KW Chamber of Commerce 2024 Business Excellence Awards. What businesses do you know that should be recognized for outstanding business achievements? See below for information on how to nominate.

Growth is consistent and todays topic on CX is an important reminder to focus on a couple of small yet important factors: ☀️Retention of clients is more important and cheaper than New client attraction ☀️How can we delight our clients ☀️Reviews both good and bad are important ☀️Transparency and Authenticity are key #smallbusiness #sme #cx #b2b

On Friday, I had the opportunity to attend the “𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗡𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗜𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱” event. This was a collaborative effort by Ballymena Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Causeway Chamber of Commerce, held at the illustrious Galgorm Collection Resort. The event was masterfully compered by David Warnock FCA and Peter Houston and sponsored by BDO Northern Ireland and Danske Bank. The panel was notably distinguished, with Brian Murphy (Managing Partner, BDO Northern Ireland), Glyn Roberts (Chief Executive, Retail NI), Stephen Kelly (Chief Executive, ManufacturingNI), and Colin Neill MBE (Chief Executive, HOSPITALITY ULSTER). Their collective wisdom offered invaluable insights. The depth and breadth of knowledge shared by the panel was truly remarkable. Each member brought forth a wealth of experience and expertise, making the discourse profoundly enlightening. What was particularly commendable was their collaborative spirit. Instead of presenting divergent views, they united in their approach. They seamlessly integrated their insights for the collective good of Northern Ireland. This unity not only enhanced the discourse but also set a sterling example for all stakeholders in the region to emulate. In my opinion, the key things noted for a much brighter future for Northern Ireland are: 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗞𝗲𝘆: Transition from isolated efforts to unified collaborations, ensuring the benefit of all in Northern Ireland. 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅𝗶𝘁𝘆: As we navigate the path defined by the Windsor framework, clarity is paramount. We must prioritise clear, actionable steps, pushing through the confusion. 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀: Northern Ireland has a rich history of successes. It's time we share these stories and focus on our achievements to inspire future success. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗗𝗼𝘁𝘀: An integrated approach between education, entrepreneurship, business, and innovation is vital for a thriving and progressive economy. Change is an avenue to growth. 𝗖𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: Our resilience, tenacity, and warm nature, combined with our passion for engaging conversation and love for the craic, highlight our hardworking and heart-warming culture. 𝗔 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄: Together, we have the power to redefine Northern Ireland's narrative. Bound by a common purpose, we can make our nation stronger, more vibrant, and unparalleled in its progress. Adhering to these principles, let's rally together to shape a truly bright future for Northern Ireland! P.S. If the energy in the room could've been bottled, we'd have our very own Northern Irish elixir of enthusiasm and camaraderie. Cheers to that and again thank you to all involved to share this event. #collaboration #successstories #leadership #strongertomorrow #NIfuture

Everything you ever wanted to know about boards but didn't know who to ask. What a great topic for an over lunch speech with the remarkably impressive ladies from the Swiss Australian Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Thanks a million to Martin G. Scarpino GAICD for organising the event. I really want to mention how great the food and service were. Bei Bar and Bistro in Darlinghurst put on an amazing lunch with Swiss Italian inspired food and the tastiest bread with garlic and honey butter that I have ever had. If you go there (and you should) don't skip the bread! Service was friendly and knowledgeable and we were all able to give our full attention to the topic. If you would like to organise a similar event for your group, please let me know. We talked about director duties and liabilities, shareholder v. stakeholder primacy, how to start a board career, the many options for director education and devlopment, what you need to know before you start and what you can learn as you progress, and a few stories about boards that suffered the consequences after doing the wrong thing! SwissCham Australia #boards #directors #governance #lunch

Key economic insight to equip North Wales leaders for year ahead

I cannot but feel disillusioned with the Malta Council for Economic and Social Development (MCESD). Rather than taking the opportunity of being a guiding protagonist during a telling moment, this ‘advisory council’ has come across more like a spectator. The agenda for the recently held urgent MCESD meeting called up by The Malta Chamber to address the “serious concerns about the current state of play (within the country) and the way the challenges faced were being handled” ended up being treated more like an a la carte menu by the host, with the ‘satisfaction’ expressed following the meeting leaving a lot to be desired. While all social partners have an important role to play, we need to move away from this glorified talking shop ‘structure’. How? For starts, government needs to give a stronger endorsement to this council, duly respecting its autonomy in setting its own agenda, giving full consideration to its deliberations. Beyond this, we need broader #leadership that is ready to work on meaningful change, with less visionary talk and more actionable tasks. Critical to achieve this is the need for a coherent voice through a stronger collaborative business platform, which is ready to rise to the occasion, placing our national interest ahead of any competing institutional distractions. As challenging as this may sound, this is where true leadership comes to play. We need concerted leadership which is more strategically focused, well placed and proactive, which can effectively challenge and stand up for what is right and what is wrong, rising well above any political debate or pressure. We need less talking and more walking if we want to arrive at the desired destination, otherwise, we risk staying perpetually seated discussing what route to take, yet going nowhere!! #thevoiceofbusiness

The Pahrump Valley Chamber of Commerce has made a recommendation to the Nye County Board of County Commissioners to create a Pahrump Valley Economic & Business Development Task Force, and would like at this time to offer more details and clarification regarding this concept to all of our members. As the community of Pahrump and Nye County continues to evolve, it is crucial for us to realistically acknowledge and address the challenges that exist within it. And in order for our county and community to become competitive, it’s time that we examine our community’s private-sector business, economic development and job growth efforts and where we must go from here and seek out the perspectives of front-line thought leaders, and not just from insiders or those who might have other vested interests or priorities. With that thought in mind, the Pahrump Valley Chamber of Commerce went before the Board of County Commissioners yet again today to reiterate the recommendation to create and support the creation of the Pahrump Economic and Business Development Task Force and to share letters of support we have received from state and federal elected officials, various businesses, industries and organizations all of which support this recommendation (see link below to see letters of support). This task force would draw upon the local business expertise, various economic and business development representatives and resources of organizations like the chamber of commerce, tourism, professional business groups, relevant county agencies and a wide range of business services and industries. It would work to provide the board of county commissioners with insight, recommendations and share best practices across the broad spectrum of businesses and industries in the valley. They could provide direction, definition and clarity to Pahrump’s economic and business development future. We believe that through open and transparent conversations with front line business leaders, experts, agencies, and staff, we can identify opportunities to highlight the importance of recognizing barriers and how best to respond to them, and encourage more involvement in economic development efforts. We also believe this is an opportunity to more fully connect staff and the Commissioners with the business communities’ overall goals and priorities, help identify focus areas and needs, possible incentives and allow for a more cohesive implementation of long-term objectives that better align with the unified economic and business development direction as determined by this strategically collaborating task force comprised of community business stakeholders. https://lnkd.in/geCgsxKy