Deputy Chairman's Letter to Members
Dear Members,
It is with a great deal of mixed emotions that I announce the time has come to say farewell to Shanghai – for now. I have decided to return to Australia to pursue a new business opportunity and to be closer to family.
I have called Shanghai home for over 20 years and for most of this time I have been an active community member of AustCham Shanghai. I can only describe this time as ‘incredible’ – I have built my business, experienced immense professional support through ups and downs, and most importantly built lifelong friendships with many wonderful people.
It has been an honor to serve on the Board of AustCham Shanghai for the past six years and as Deputy Chairman for five years. In this time, I have served with the cream of Australia’s international business minds. Working together, we were able to further build a strong and resilient business Chamber. I will cherish this experience and look forward to watching the Chamber grow and continue to support businesses in China and Australia.
From my new home in Melbourne, I will continue to be a huge supporter of the Chamber. I have seen many times over the positive role the Chamber has had on people and businesses first coming into the Chinese market. For those members that embrace it, the Chamber can add enormous value and can become an extension of your businesses intellectual power but more importantly an extended support network when living and working so far from home.
The current Board contains an incredibly talented mix of people who I’m certain will be able to take the Chamber to the next level. Whoever replaces me on the Board at the next AGM will have a strong, capable, and welcoming cohort with which they can work. There has never been a more important time to have a strong and active AustCham Shanghai - but the Chamber is only as strong as the members that support it. I hope that members will continue to contribute and provide their active support to the Board and the hard-working secretariat.
I hope to see you at Aussie Drinks on 23 April, so we can have a beer and say – see you later.
Regards,
Craig
