ONE of the north's most-well known business figures has been elected as the new President of the the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce.
Ellvena Graham, the former head of Ulster Bank and current chair of the Electricity Supply Board (ESB), the new Belfast Waterfront and Ulster Hall Ltd Board and the Northern Ireland Economy Advisory Group (EAG) succeeds Ulster Carpet’s managing director Nick Coburn.
Ms Graham spent over 30 years with Ulster Bank, most recently as managing director of SME banking for the Ulster Bank Group as a whole, and as head of Ulster Bank Northern Ireland, where she represented the bank with all key stakeholders, including government, industry bodies and consumer groups.
The announcement, made at the Chamber's AGM held in Belfast's Fitzwilliam Hotel also saw the managing director of Allstate NI John Healy elected as Vice President.
Ms Graham said it was an honour to take on the new position.
"I am delighted to have been elected as President of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a role which carries with it a responsibility to support business growth."
“There are many challenges during my tenure in the year ahead. We face the ongoing economic challenges which Brexit poses for our exporters and the wider business community and also the political challenges which have come from the fact that Northern Ireland does not have a functioning government.
“It is vital that following the Westminster elections on June 8 2017, talks with resume between our political parties so that the political institutions can get up and running again. We need to have measures, supported by government which will help businesses and the wider economy in Northern Ireland grow," she added.
The Northern Ireland Chamber AGM also saw Richard Donnan (Ulster Bank) and Ian Henry (Henry Brothers) appointed to the Chamber board.