The new CEO of the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce is looking to build on the existing foundations laid by his predecessor to grow the organisation.
Julian Carter, who stepped into his new role last month, says he has no plans to “rock the boat”, but is keen to continue growing the membership and supporting more businesses across the county.
The dad of two is joining the Old Hatfield-based Chamber with an enviable track record in venture capital, setting up and advising on a range of mainly tech-based businesses throughout his career.
He aims to bring that expertise to the Chamber. He said: “I just want to bring all that experience to my local county and I’m excited about the journey ahead.
I think there’s great potential in the Chamber. Briege [Leahy, former CEO] achieved a great deal during her tenure and that’s given me a solid foundation to grow from.”
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Scarborough-born Julian would like to double the current membership during his tenure and will be looking for innovative ideas to achieve the goal.
“The first thing is to understand what members want from their membership and that we are continually providing value add and we’re always ahead of the curve.
"We need to understand emerging trends and provide the support and education to our customer base to adopt them.
“It’s important to be connecting companies with each other. I’d like to bring more technology into the business to help us connect companies more effectively.”
But he pointed out that he will be thinking more about evolution than revolution.
I said the first thing I’ll do is not to rock the boat but maintain stability during a leadership transition. I don’t want to come in proposing lots of big ideas and changes.
"I firstly need to understand the business and gradually introduce new validated processes and systems.”
Chairman Jeremy Bishop added: “We are delighted to welcome Julian to the Chamber.
"He has worked with a lot of businesses throughout his career and the experience and skills he has gained will be of great benefit to our members.”
For more information about the Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce, visit www.hertschamber.com.
The Hertfordshire Chamber of Commerce is based at York House in Salisbury Square, Old Hatfield.
It is working to bolster the long term economic prosperity and success of the local economy by championing the county and its businesses.
Established in 1924, the Chamber is a privately-run membership organisation proudly acting as the British Chambers of Commerce’s (BCC) Accredited Chamber of Commerce for Hertfordshire.
Mainly supporting SMEs, the Herts Chamber of Commerce is the largest independent business support organisation within the county and the fastest growing Chamber within the national British Chambers of Commerce network for 2019.
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