Vic Annells steps down from Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce role

Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce has started a recruitment process to identify a new chief executive.

The search will be led by the outgoing chief executive, Vic Annells, who has been in the post since May 2021.

The Chamber in a statement: “Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the world of work has had to rapidly adapt to new ways of working to ensure the safety of their employees whilst maintaining business continuity.

“In the last two years, the Chamber has emerged as a key contributor to managing change.”

Mr Annells said: “I am leaving for family reasons. I’m sad to be going but it has been a lot of fun and hopefully I have done a good job.

“I think the Chamber is in a very good position. Every single month brings new members. Last month we recruited 25 new members.

“The Chamber is more interactive with its members, we have brought some more talented people on to the board and we are much more local than ever before.”

Brian Jones, chair of the Cambridgeshire Chamber Board, said: “We are hugely grateful for the transformation that Vic has led the Chamber through during his tenure.

“We have invested in our membership by developing some major interventions that will have long-term impact. We have focused on our finances, our brand perception – regaining credibility in an intensely competitive marketplace, our team, and our membership, ensuring all members feel they gain from being part of the Chambers.”

He continued: “We have seen the Chamber membership grow month-on-month for the last eight consecutive months – there really never has been a more exciting time to take on the role of chief executive and we are excited to be opening the role to a formal recruitment process.”

The Chamber’s current membership of 836 companies represents approximately 95,800 people in the region. It holds over 150 networking events each year across all sectors and company sizes.

The next Chamber event is an informal networking occasion at the Fellows House, 5-6,30pm, on April 20.