Mairead Hennessy begins her term as Chamber President
26/10/2022
Mairead Hennessy of TaxKey was elected President of County Kildare Chamber at their AGM held on Wednesday 19th October. County Kildare Chamber is the voice of business for Kildare representing in excess of 400 companies throughout the mid-east region. Mairead is a long-standing member of the Chamber executive committee and has served as Vice-President for the last three years.
Speaking after being formally elected Chamber President Mairead Hennessy said “I am delighted and honour to be elected President. I am really looking forward to working with and on behalf of the membership to ensure Kildare businesses continue to thrive. The membership of Kildare Chamber is incredibly well served by Allan Shine, Jennifer Forster and Sinéad Ronan and I will work tirelessly with them to ensure the Chamber continue to provide the services that our members require and deserve.
High on my agenda for the coming term are a number of new initiatives currently being planned for 2023 and continuing the work of my predecessors with trade missions promoting Kildare and the wider region as a key location in which to do business. I also look forward to continuing the co-operation between the Chamber and Kildare County Council, and I look forward to working with Sonya Kavanagh and her team in the term ahead. I will be strongly encouraging the Council to endorse business in the county by preventing any potential rate increase for next year. We require our Local Government to be pro-business and we need Kildare to be an attractive place to do business. We in the Chamber will work alongside our County Council to ensure that Kildare remains the location of choice for business”.
Outgoing President Luke Hanahoe said “It has been the biggest professional honour of my life to represent my fellow members of County Kildare Chamber as their President. I have been proud to work beside an excellent executive committee, a great team and fantastic membership.
I hope to have left the Chamber in a better position since I became President three years ago, just like successive Presidents before me have improved upon the Chamber with each passing term. County Kildare Chamber has continued to grow in the face of adversity through Covid 19, the knock-on effects from the war in Ukraine and current inflationary issues. Finally, may I wish incoming President Mairead Hennessy the very best for her term ahead, I know she will be an incredible President and will serve the Chamber well”.
Allan Shine, CEO of the Chamber concluded by saying, “Luke Hanahoe has served as President of the Chamber for 3 years and in that time the membership has grown to 400 businesses, we have embarked on two very successful trade missions this year and have recently refurbished our I Hub, home to 12 start up businesses. This hub is now the most advanced start up hub in the region. I believe that our complete offering to businesses in Kildare has evolved over the past 3 years and that this Chamber is on a strong footing going forward.
In that time our businesses have been through a number of serious challenges and the Chamber has worked hard to ensure Government was always well aware of business concerns in the region. The appointment of Sinéad Ronan in January of this year, as Public Affairs Manager also adds to this continued active engagement with central and local government. It ensures that County Kildare Chamber, as the largest business organisation in the mid-eastern region has a strong message and voice to channel the concerns of our membership. I look forward to working with our new President Mairead Hennessy in her term in office along with the newly elected committee members, Denise Brady and Ruth Murphy.