Chambers Wales appoints new president

Partner with Menzies based in Cardiff John Cullen takes up the presidency role

Chambers Wales has appointed partner with accountancy firm Menzies John Cullen as its new president.

The business membership organisation has also appointed Emma Waddingham of Legal News Wales and Tom Wilkinson of Barcud Shared Services to its board, with both also becoming vice-presidents.

The new appointments come just a few months after Chamber Wales formed a new board bringing together sector experts from across Wales to bolster its work and campaigning on key issues affecting Welsh SMEs.

Based at Menzies’ Cardiff office, Kiwi Mr Cullen manages the firm’s UK-wide equity, inclusion and social value initiatives, an expertise he also brings to the chamber as its social value chair.

Ms Waddingham is the founder and editor of Legal News Wales and is currently the first non-lawyer to be president of the Cardiff and District Law Society. She is also the chamber’s business networking Chair.

Mr Wilkinson is the director of Operations at not-for-profit organisation Barcud Shared Services and is also chair of the YMCA Cardiff. As well as taking on the role as Chambers’ vice-president, he is the not-for-profit Chair, helping foster collaboration between the public, private and not for profit sectors.

Mr Cullen said: “I am very proud to be taking up the role as president of Chamber Wales. I look forward to supporting the work that the Chambers does in bringing Welsh businesses together, campaigning on its behalf and supporting its members when they really need it.

“In my work as a partner at Menzies, I spend a lot of time advising boards and solving seemingly complex problems outside of the board’s normal expertise, and so I have been able to bring this experience to the Chambers’ board and now hope to expand that in my role as president.”

“Chambers Wales is committed to working with its members to reflect a real-world economic view to our politicians about what it’s like to run a company in Wales today – the challenges, the opportunities, and the blockers. We will foster collaboration across the board to make Wales an amazing place to do business.

“We have such a great business eco-system here in Wales, one that is supportive, collaborative, and innovative. There are so many opportunities that we can exploit both in the UK and abroad on behalf of our members and I’m really looking forward to working closely with them to achieve their goals, which will ultimately help Wales economically.”

Penny Lock, commercial director at Chambers Wales, said of John, Emma and Tom’s appointments: “This really is a dream team of senior leaders for Chambers Wales. Each brings with them a level of expertise and passion that will be a massive benefit to us as an organisation and our members alike.”

Rachelle Sellek, partner at Acuity Law and non-executive director of Chambers Wales, added: “As a board, we are really pleased and proud that John, Emma and Tom have taken up these important roles in our organisation. Each bring a unique skill, personal experience and commitment to Chambers Wales that I know will help us grow and thrive.”