Byles takes helm at Chamber of Commerce

At the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce’s annual general meeting on Wednesday afternoon, new Chamber President Paul Byles promised he will be dedicated to serving the entire business community.

“We are a Chamber for all businesses, large and small, with hundreds of employees or just one,” he said. “We will be dedicated to all our members.”

Mr. Byles was giving his first public speech as the Chamber’s new president. Wednesday’s meeting also saw the election of Woody Foster as the Chamber’s new vice president, Colin Robinson as its treasurer, and Shomari Scott, Nelson Dilbert and Mario Ebanks as its councilors.

Outgoing president Kyle Broadhurst also gave an overview of what the Chamber accomplished over the last year under his leadership.

“One of the core things we accomplished this year was developing an advocacy agenda and action plan, which will provide the Chamber a road map for the next three years,” he said. “The plan addresses key areas impacting all our members, such as education, employment and workforce development, economic growth and diversification, regulatory efficiency and community development.”

Specifically, Mr. Broadhurst touted the Chamber’s “Growth Matters” campaign – a series of videos that explained the importance of economic growth to the territory, and how that growth is generated.

“The campaign was a resounding success, with the educational videos having been viewed hundreds of thousands of times by a worldwide audience,” he said. “We were presented with two international industry awards for this outstanding campaign, and other Chambers from the Caribbean region have reached out to us for guidance in creating their own, similar initiatives.”

Mr. Broadhurst also mentioned the social work done by the Chamber, such as its annual Earth Day roadside and beach cleanup.

Looking forward into this year, Mr. Byles said he plans on continuing many of the initiatives started by his predecessor. He urged Chamber members to take initiative in moving the business community forward instead of relying on government.

“We don’t need a new policy or a new piece of legislation to get everything done,” he said. “We can work together to get things done.”