THE new head of the Confederation of Business Industry (CBI) in Northern Ireland has said it is time for firms to accept the vote of the EU referendum and "move forward with Brexit".
Angela McGowan joined the body as regional director earlier this month after eight years as chief economist at Danske Bank UK.
And although the CBI did not take a public position on Brexit ahead of the referendum, Ms McGowan admitted the result was "not what she would have wanted".
In her first media interview since taking up her new post, she said: "We've decided that you just have to respect the vote.
"We live in a democracy and it was the decision of the public to back Brexit."
And she urged a pragmatic response to obstacles posed by Brexit, adding that business in most cases were "just getting on with it".
"I don't think there's any point at this stage in anyone trying to change the direction of what happened on June 23. All we can do is work with it and make sure that the business community doesn't suffer too much," she said.
"We have to find a way forward that works for Northern Ireland businesses," she said.
"It might not be the outcome that I personally would have wanted or that many businesses would have wanted but I think what we have to do now is just build this new relationship, and feed into that new relationship with the UK and the EU to ensure that it works for the business community and particularly the Northern Ireland business community."
Ms McGowan has taken over the job from Nigel Smyth who retired from the post in August this year, after 26 years.
In addition to her role at the CBI, she is a member of the Employers' Forum at Queen's University Belfast and sits on the International Advisory Board for the institution's school of management.
Other positions includes as an independent panellist assessing Northern Ireland Audit Office reports.
CBI's chairman in the north David Gavaghan said Ms McGowan had been appointed at a "critical time for this economy".
There are a number of issues that will dominate the local economic landscape in the months ahead such as: trade, skills, infrastructure and tax," he said.
"Indeed, Brexit and the local productivity challenge will be two of the most important issues facing this economy in the years ahead. Angela’s expertise will be invaluable for ensuring that the local economic framework supports Northern Ireland firms regardless of sector or size and enables them to thrive”.
The CBI said its new director had plans to visit several CBI members of the coming weeks as well as engaging with Stormont ministers.
That includes a round-table discussion with infrastructure minister Chris Hazzard next week while the CBI has planned a question time lunch with economy minister Simon Hamilton on November 17.
