Effective yesterday, former development consultant, university lecturer and member of the Executive Council of the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), Mrs. Celene Cleland-Gomez, was named Chief Executive Officer of the BCCI.
Cleland-Gomez takes over from Kevin Herrera, who left the post after 11 years last October.
A press release from the Chamber today touts the new CEO’s “energy” and “passion to serve and meaningfully contribute to Belize’s development.”
The new CEO, a managing partner of Launchpad Consulting, specializes in international trade and management and claims involvement in numerous policy initiatives in Belize and the region and boasts previous stints in management positions in the Government and with the former Belize Telecommunications Limited.
Cleland-Gomez taught at the University of Belize’s Faculty of Management and Social Sciences as an adjunct lecturer in Tourism Policy, and holds memberships in various institutions dedicated to policy, telecommunications and human resources.
In an interview at her Regent Street office this afternoon, Cleland-Gomez, 40, explained her plans and vision for the Chamber in the near future.
Asked how she saw the current role of the Chamber in Belizean business, Cleland-Gomez said that the Chamber was “important to the development of the private sector in particular and national economic development in general,” and proposed to enhance that role by “engaging the private sector, recording new ideas and plans to combat the current local and global economic changes taking place.”
The former manager and consultant says that she has a passion for small businesses, calling them “the economic engine of our society,” and vowed to within three years greatly expand Chamber membership and put in place programs to assist all businesses, small and large, to maximize their full potential.
Cleland-Gomez told Amandala that whatever positions the Chamber takes will be reached in consultation with its members and based on “principles,” and expressed willingness to open “appropriate communication channels” with the current administration.