Chambers Wales South East, South West and Mid has appointed Dr Fiona Withey, co-founder and former CEO of TrakCel, the Cardiff based provider of cell and gene therapy software solutions, as its new Chief Operating Officer.
Fiona is an expert in international trade and export, with more than 30 years’ experience in leadership roles within the pharmaceutical sector and is also the chair of MediWales and a founding member of the British Heart Foundation Heart of Cymru Business Board. She is a non-executive Director of Chambers Wales and will join the Chambers as COO on a part time basis.
She will join the Chambers’ team to bolster the work of Commercial Director Penny Lock and Director of International Trade David Peña in supporting its members to grow, collaborate and expand into new markets at home and abroad.
Fiona’s appointment comes after the Chambers unveiled its new President John Cullen, and its new Vice-Presidents Emma Waddingham and Tom Wilkinson.
Fiona said of her appointment: “Being a member of Chambers Wales South East, South West and Mid I have seen first-hand the difference being part of this community can have in real terms for Welsh businesses.
“I am so proud of the work that Chambers Wales carries out for its members and am really looking forward to working closely with Penny, David and the team on a day to day basis to support our members to grow, thrive and contribute even more to the Welsh economy.”
Chambers Wales SESWM President John Cullen said of Fiona’s appointment: “Fiona was already so committed to the Chambers’ work – attending many events a week and collaborating closely with Penny and David on a daily basis – that moving her into this, more permanent role, made total sense to us as a board.
“Her experience and knowledge speaks for itself, she is already such an asset to us as an organisation and will be even more so in this new role as COO. In particular, her expertise around international trade and export will be unrivalled and will be so valuable to many of our members.”
John added: “I’d like to thank Gus Williams for his service as our interim CEO over the past couple of years, and to Bevan and Buckland for the support it has provided to us.
“We are really excited about what the future holds for us as an organisation representing the best SMEs in Wales. We have a solid, committed and varied board, an enthusiastic and passionate leadership team and members who are keen to work together and to demonstrate the business power we have in Wales.
“There have been big changes at the Senedd and we are keen to work very closely with our politicians to represent our members and realise the potential of the Welsh SME sector.”
For more information about Chambers Wales South East, South West and Mid, visit: https://cw-seswm.com/