Chambers Wales has appointed John Cullen, a partner at the accountancy firm Menzies, as its new president. The business membership organization also added Emma Waddingham of Legal News Wales and Tom Wilkinson of Barcud Shared Services to its board, with both taking on vice-president roles.
These appointments come just months after Chambers Wales formed a new board, bringing together sector experts from across Wales to strengthen its work and campaigning on key issues affecting Welsh SMEs.
Based at Menzies' Cardiff office, New Zealander Mr. Cullen manages the firm's UK-wide equity, inclusion, and social value initiatives. He also brings this expertise to the chamber as its social value chair.
Ms. Waddingham is the founder and editor of Legal News Wales and currently serves as the first non-lawyer president of the Cardiff and District Law Society. She also chairs the chamber's business networking group.
Mr. Wilkinson is the director of operations at the not-for-profit organization Barcud Shared Services and chairs YMCA Cardiff. As vice-president, he also chairs the not-for-profit sector, fostering collaboration between public, private, and not-for-profit sectors.
Mr. Cullen said: "I am very proud to be taking up the role as president of Chambers Wales. I look forward to supporting the work that the chamber does in bringing Welsh businesses together, campaigning on its behalf, and supporting its members when they really need it. In my work as a partner at Menzies, I spend a lot of time advising boards and solving seemingly complex problems outside of the board's normal expertise, and so I have been able to bring this experience to the chamber's board and now hope to expand that in my role as president."
He added: "Chambers Wales is committed to working with its members to reflect a real-world economic view to our politicians about what it's like to run a company in Wales today – the challenges, the opportunities, and the blockers. We will foster collaboration across the board to make Wales an amazing place to do business. We have such a great business eco-system here in Wales, one that is supportive, collaborative, and innovative. There are so many opportunities that we can exploit both in the UK and abroad on behalf of our members, and I'm really looking forward to working closely with them to achieve their goals, which will ultimately help Wales economically."
Penny Lock, commercial director at Chambers Wales, said of John, Emma, and Tom's appointments: "This really is a dream team of senior leaders for Chambers Wales. Each brings with them a level of expertise and passion that will be a massive benefit to us as an organization and our members alike."
Rachelle Sellek, partner at Acuity Law and non-executive director of Chambers Wales, added: "As a board, we are really pleased and proud that John, Emma, and Tom have taken up these important roles in our organization. Each brings a unique skill, personal experience, and commitment to Chambers Wales that I know will help us grow and thrive."
