The new president of the island’s Chamber of Commerce has promised to put the focus on team work.

Chris Allen, general manager for Triumph Actuation Systems in Onchan, also hopes to strengthen links between the island’s biggest business network and the government.

During his inaugural speech, the new president outlined the organisation’s strategy for his term of office.

The focus, he said, would be very much on team work. He said: ‘Throughout my career in the aerospace industry it has always been normal to work with teams, to share and develop ideas for new designs, and to identify solutions to challenges and problems.

‘To me, as an engineer, working in this way is second nature and I believe that this approach is very healthy in any business.

‘With this same approach, over the summer I have worked with Chamber Council members to refresh our strategy and define some clear objectives for the next two years.’

Chamber, he continued, would also aim to strengthen its relationship with Isle of Man Government, in the same collaborative way, to support its aims to grow the economy and develop a strong business base on the island.

Chris added: ‘To this end, we see an important link with the new ‘‘agency model’’ defined within the proposed plan for the new Department for Enterprise.

‘There are already parallels between our own Chamber model of sector committees and the new Department’s model, so tailored representation from Chamber in support of these agencies makes sense.’

The new president thanked his predecessor, Micky Swindale, for her ‘tireless efforts over the last two years’ and added that he looked forward to working with her on the Chamber Council in her new role as immediate past president.

Caren Pegg, a partner with law firm Appleby and chairman of Chamber’s Employment and Skills Committee, takes over as vice-president. Congratulating Caren on her appointment, Chris Allen said: ‘We have worked together on a number of projects for Chamber and Caren has proved to be an invaluable, very capable and committed to Chamber initiatives.’

He joined Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce in 2002, starting as a member of the Engineering and Manufacturing Committee, eventually becoming chairman of that committee in 2013 and only stepping down recently when he became Chamber’s vice president.

The new president spoke as te Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual gala dinner at the Villa Marina, Douglas.

Around 44 Chamber members and their guests attended with representatives being drawn from across the island’s economic sectors.

Guests of honour were the Lieutenant Governor Sir Richard Gozney; Department of Economic Development Minister Laurence Skelly MHK; Department of Economic Development CEO Mark Lewin; and chief secretary Will Greenhow who is head of the Isle of Man Civil Service.

The Isle of Man Chamber has a close working relationship with Wirral Chamber of Commerce which was represented at the dinner by CEO Paula Basnett, and her colleagues Sharon Stanton, Patsy Crocker, and Graham Maddrell.

The gala dinner represented the end of Micky Swindale’s term as Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce president and, fittingly, the evening featured a presentation by FUEL (Future Emerging Leaders) which is an initiative she launched in her inaugural speech two years ago.

FUEL was part of a broader Chamber campaign to change the organisation’s demographic and encourage younger members to get involved.

The group has grown rapidly in both size and influence, recently becoming a formal committee of Chamber.

At the gala dinner FUEL members unveiled their ‘FutureIsle’ project which is a review of some of the major global trends set to emerge over the next 25 to 30 years, and the impacts and opportunities these trends could bring to the Isle of Man.

The emerging generation theme for the evening was also reflected in entertainment provided by Amy Gravestock and Tabitha Templer, winners of ‘The Next Big Thing’ in 2017 and 2016 respectively.