New chamber president vows to support Solihull’s growth

THE Chief Administration Officer and Company Secretary at Birmingham Airport has been appointed at the new president of Solihull Chamber of Commerce.

Joe Kelly said he was looking forward to his tenure and the area offered a lot of opportunities to deliver on the Government’s strategy of bring economic prosperity back to the region.

Mr Kelly, who will serve two years in post, takes over from Alan Volkaerts, operations director at Jaguar Land Rover’s Lode Lane plant.
 
Mr Kelly said: “We are in some ways a very fortunate generation never encountering the type of world war conflict our parents’ generation did. But make no mistake we are in a war and it is worldwide and to succeed we are going to have to fight and battle.
 
“The Heseltine review is a Government initiative which places the region in the limelight and which will provide an exciting opportunity for the chamber and its members.
 
“The chamber’s ability to help businesses and their people by offering services that connect business to opportunities will become increasingly important in this ever expanding marketplace.”
 
He said the chamber’s aim would be to ensure that firms in the area got the support they needed in order to thrive.

“This organisation is about its membership and through the executive team we shall provide an unending commitment to making business as successful as we can and as that happens, the chamber as an organisation shall become stronger and business more successful,” he said.
 
Solihull Chamber is part of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Group, which, is the largest and oldest chamber in the UK.
 
Mr Kelly, who is from Birmingham, qualified as a chartered accountant in 1982, gaining an MBA from Aston University in 1993.  In his role with Birmingham Airport he has responsibility for supporting the delivery of the new runway extension.