New president Brown aims to move Dorset Chamber to 'greater heights'

By Giles Gwinnett

12 December 2023

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New Dorset Chamber president Tony Brown at tthe organisation's 2023 annual meeting - picture contributed

New president Tony Brown said he wanted to move the Dorset Chamber to 'greater heights' when he received the chain of office at the organisation's annual meeting at the Bournemouth Highcliff Marriott Hotel.

Brown succeeds outgoing president Caron Khan as the chamber celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2024.

The group has more than 650 members and runs as a business on a not-for-profit basis.

Chief executive Ian Girling, marking his 10th anniversary in charge, told nearly 100 members at the event that it had been another successful year despite the challenging backdrop.

"Our highlight of 2023 was the Dorset Business Festival, a four-day celebration that included a networking launch, a major conference and expo and the return of the Dorset Business Awards," he said.

"With a footfall of over 800 businesses, this was the largest and most ambitious project ever undertaken by Dorset Chamber. A huge thank you goes to our amazing team and to all of our festival partners.

"You can expect to see the festival return in October 2024 over a two week period," he added.
New president Brown, who is managing director of Ferndown-based Y-not-Finance, said: "Dorset Chamber has long been a beacon of collaboration, innovation, and growth.

"As we navigate the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, I am eager to build upon the strong foundation laid by my predecessors and work collectively with each and every one of you, to help move our chamber to even greater heights."

He will be supported in his role by new chamber vice-president Gareth Sherwood - the chief executive of Bournemouth YMCA.

Following the meeting, the chamber held its Christmas lunch for nearly 200 people - one of the highest attendances for many years - when £1,744 was raised from a raffle for Diverse Abilities.

Dorset Chamber, founded in 1949, has an 85% membership retention rate and is the only chamber in the county accredited to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).

It was one of five finalists in the latter's national Chamber of the Year Award this year and recently achieved an 'excellent' rating in a Net Promotor Score survey of members, a metric to measure loyalty and advocacy towards an organisation.

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By Giles Gwinnett

Giles Gwinnett is a writer at The Business Magazine. He has been a journalist for more than 20 years and covered a vast array of topics at a range of media settings - in print and online. After his NCTJ newspaper training, he became a reporter in Hampshire before moving to a news agency in Gloucestershire. In recent years, he has been covering the financial markets along with company news for an investor-focused web portal. His many interests include politics, energy and the environment. He lives in Dorset.