What an exciting way to begin my time with the Chamber! Following on from the extremely successful event with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull at the end of CHOGM, the Chamber had another four events in May, ranging from the first event in our ‘Going Home’ series, hosted by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in collaboration with our Kiwi cousins at Kea, to a high-level Cyber Security Roundtable with Telstra attended by the former Director of GCHQ, Sir Iain Lobban, and Australia’s inaugural Ambassador for Cyber Affairs, Dr Tobias Feakin.
All of this, of course, would not have been possible without the excellent planning and wonderful relationships put in place by our CEO, Catherine Woo. I feel incredibly lucky to be stepping into her shoes at this exciting juncture for the Chamber and, as Catherine heads off on her maternity leave, I am sure that you will join me in wishing her all the best as she begins this new and exciting chapter. I am looking forward to meeting those of you I have not yet had the chance to meet in person to hear your ideas and feedback on how we can work together over the next year, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with me at elizabeth@australiachamber.co.uk
The Chamber’s focus over the coming twelve months will continue to be ensuring that we remain the preeminent forum connecting the business community and professionals between the UK and Australia. Making sure that we are hosting interesting and relevant events and producing thought leadership and clear outcomes for you, our members and supporters, will remain at the heart of what we do. Supporting this, as the debate around a potential new trade relationship between the UK and Australia intensifies, I will be looking to use my background in trade negotiations and business advisory to organise Chamber events that are focussed both on what business can expect from a new trade deal, and also to get your feedback on what you will be looking for out of any new trading agreement.
As always, our team is working hard behind the scenes and we have several very exciting upcoming events, in particular Tech Australia 2018 on 12 June as part of London Tech Week, the beginning of our Innovation Talks Series on 27 June looking at the role of Artificial Intelligence in Capital Markets, and everyone’s favourite event, the Summer Drinks Party, details for which will be announced soon.
Over the last month of events and meetings, I’ve had an opportunity to see how diverse and vibrant our community really is, thank you to all of you for being part of it.
Best regards,
Elizabeth Ames
Executive Director, Australia-United Kingdom Chamber of Commerce
