Chamber chief executive set to retire

West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce chief executive, Sandy Needham, has announced her pending retirement in 2022.

Needham, who has headed the Bradford, Leeds and York & North Yorkshire Chamber since leading the successful merger of the three Chambers in 2014, will step down following 25 years of service.

The search for a replacement chief executive at the business organisation, which represents more than 2,500 companies in West and North Yorkshire, will begin immediately and Needham will remain in post to manage the hand over until mid-2022.

She joined Chamber Management Services, a company jointly owned by the Chambers of Bradford, Leeds and York and North Yorkshire in 1997 before becoming chief executive of Bradford Chamber in 2001.

She said: “I’ve had a long career with the Chambers in three different roles over 25 years and I really enjoy working with businesses of all sizes and sectors across West & North Yorkshire.

“The Chamber has an experienced and committed board which operates alongside a number of enthusiastic and action-oriented committees which have a passion for the places in which we operate.

“I feel extremely fortunate to have held this position and to have had the support to develop new services such as Business Enterprise Finance, new serviced offices and industrial units, to create the Raising the Bar social impact initiative and to work with the BAME business community to broaden the reach of our support services.

“Like all businesses, the last year has been challenging, but thanks to our members and support from public sector contracts, we are in good shape.”

Needham is a founding board member of the Business Improvement Districts in Leeds and Bradford, a director of the British Chambers of Commerce and a recently appointed director of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership.

In 2019, she was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, a role in which she has promoted the Queen’s Award for Industry.

Chair of the West & North Yorkshire Chamber, Amanda Beresford, said: “Sandy has been a great asset to the Chamber and she will leave with our warmest thanks for everything she has achieved.”