Board of Trade and Employers' Council merger will improve business advocacy, leaders say
AnnMarie Boudreau, CEO of the St. John's Board of Trade, says it made sense to combine forces with the Employers' Council. (Darrell Roberts/CBC)
Two organizations representing businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador plan to merge and become a single entity under a new name: the Newfoundland and Labrador Board of Trade.
The St. John's Board of Trade and the Newfoundland and Labrador Employers' Council said in a joint statement they are merging in order to become "a stronger, more effective, member-focused organization."
AnnMarie Boudreau, chief executive officer of the St. John's Board of Trade, told CBC News that the idea had been brewing for months.
"A lot of the work that we do, a lot of the advocacy work and the policy initiatives that we're usually driving are very similar," Boudreau said.
The two provide services to businesses in St. John's and the province by representing them through advocacy and providing programs to enhance business skills such as finance and marketing.
Judy Sparkes-Giannou, the owner of Clayton Hospitality and chairperson of the Newfoundland and Labrador Employers' Council, says the merger of the two organizations will enable them to better support the business community. (Submitted by Judy Sparkes-Giannou)
Staff on both sides will remain, and more seats on the board will be added to include the council's directors, says the council's chair, Judy Sparkes-Giannou.
Sparks-Giannou added that the Employers' Council has been transitioning from one executive to another, and the council had gaps they wanted to fill internally. Merging with the board is an opportunity to provide more programs to businesses and members, she said.
The move is a return to how things used to be, Sparkes-Giannou says, as the council was established in 1982, and had once been a subcommittee in the board of trade. It later broke away.
"Now we're we're coming back together and I think that's just the the cycle of things," she said.
Boudreau says the board of trade has already done advocacy at a provincial level and they will continue to do so.
"Doing it together, without question, we will deliver more value to our members by bringing our skills combined with a passion for the province."
Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.
