Opinion CHAMBER
The official publication of Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce
LINK Cannock Chase
Chamber of Commerce
Editor’s View
By John Lamb
young ones. (You can read all about why Sir Cliff’s name is
Sutton Coldfield
Chamber of Commerce
Greater Birmingham
Commonwealth Chamber of Commerce
up in lights on page 27). Given the straitened times we are
Greater Birmingham
Transatlantic Chamber of Commerce
experiencing, I suppose it is prudent to look ahead rather than back to almost 12 months which have included lockdowns, with their devastating impact on business, and Brexit, with its potential devastating impact on business. So it is with uplifted spirits that we report in
Front cover: Future Face leaders (left to right): Sabah Hussain, Jaccy Datta and Anna Assinder See page 10
Editor John Lamb 0121 274 3237, 0797 1144064
j.lamb@
birmingham-chamber.com
Deputy Editor Dan Harrison 0121 274 3239, 0797 1144052
d.harrison@birmingham-chamber.com
Reporter Jessica Brookes 0750 8317356
j.brookes@
birmingham-chamber.com
You can now read the latest issue of CHAMBERLINK and view back issues online at:
www.greaterbirminghamchambers.com
detail about the merger between the bodies who represent Greater Birmingham’s young professional, because here is the future. Our highly successful Future Faces (FF) team
at the Chamber have merged with Business Professional Services (BPS) Birmingham, creating a powerful body of young professionals. Here is the future of Greater Birmingham
under one roof, so to speak, and you only have to witness previous FF annual awards to appreciate the amazing quality of the young people they represent. BPS was born out of an organisation originally
called City 2000, created in the nineties and then changing its name once the noughties were reached. It morphed into Birmingham Forward with Birmingham Future as its young professionals’ arm. Greater Birmingham had always been under-
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4 CHAMBERLINK February 2021
represented in this sector but there is now a palpable dynamism among its future business stars. You only have to take Gymshark, one of the FF’ patrons, as an outstanding example of what young people can achieve. Embracing BPS into FF has increased membership by almost a quarter at a stroke so
Merger secures city’s future W
ith notable exceptions, including Sir Cliff Richard, this month’s issue of Chamberlink is dominated by the
we can genuinely claim that the Chamber organisation truly represents the voice of young Birmingham. As the Chamber’s Anna Assinder, FF’s manager, points out this acquisition comes at a time when our future leaders are going to need to unite and be stronger than ever before. It is these professionals who will play a
leading role in guiding the city out of lockdown and into economic recovery. Among them will be Jaccy Datta, who has just
succeeded Mark Hipwell as president of FF. Mark, a pre-construction manager for HS2 contractor LMJV (Laing O‘Rourke and Murphy Group, Joint Venture) has led FF with distinction for the past two years. Jaccy, a compliance consultant in Santander UK’s Ant-Financial Crime Department, credits her membership of FF with helping her professional and personal development over the past four years. She recognises that staying connected is even more important today as we live under the restrictions imposed by Covid-19. ONE of the main items in this first Chamberlink
issue of 2021 is the announcement that chief executive Paul Faulkner is to leave the Chamber for a new career with the Richardson family. Paul has had a remarkable impact on the
Chamber since he joined the organisation nearly six years ago, carrying it through many developments and, of course, the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit. We wish him well for his future career and there will be an in-depth interview with Paul in the March edition of Chamberlink. He will be fondly remembered by members for
his cheerful resilience through some tough times and perhaps his greatest legacy will be securing the Chamber’s future by successfully negotiating the sale of Chamber of Commerce House in Edgbaston.
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