Kevin Smith has announced his retirement as the Chief Executive of the IW Chamber of Commerce. After 17 years in the role he will be retiring from June 2018.
During his period of office, Kevin has established and developed arguably one of the most progressive business support organisations in the country.
Kevin said:
“I have really enjoyed myself working for the Isle of Wight Chamber of Commerce and it has been a privilege to help support, promote and to be a champion for the Isle of Wight, not only for the Island’s business community, but also for the whole of the Island. It has also been great to see some of our ideas being adopted and operating at a national level. It has also been an honour to both attend and present at many events worldwide with Young Chamber, including to the European Commission and the World Chamber of Commerce.”
Geoff Underwood, President of the Isle of Wight Chamber of Commerce, said:
“Through Kevin’s efforts, the Isle of Wight Chamber is today one of the most highly regarded Chambers of Commerce in the country. Kevin has represented the Chamber in a highly professional manner and his innovation and energy has been second to none. I am truly grateful for the many ways in which he has made the Chamber a better organisation and he will surely be a tough act to follow.”
Steve Porter, Chairman of the Isle of Wight Chamber of Commerce, said:
“I have had the privilege of working alongside Kevin for almost all of the time he has been Chief Executive. In that time he has totally transformed the Chamber, through his drive and commercial acumen, into a vibrant and forward thinking organisation which has benefitted both the members and the wider business community. I wish him the very best for the future.”
The recruitment process for a suitable replacement is now underway with a view to appointing a new Chief Executive before Kevin retires and to allow for a smooth transition for the Chamber and its members.
During his time living and working on the Isle of Wight, Kevin has set up and established many new successful initiatives through the IW Chamber including:
- IW Lottery, the only one of its kind in England, which has created and sustained over 2,000 Island jobs, issued loans in excess of £740,000 and has paid out over £2million in prize money.
- IW Chamber Health which Kevin founded and set up with his wife Anita, provides free work-based health checks for employees of Island companies; this is also the only one of its kind in the country. To date it has provided workplace health support to over 10,000 Isle of Wight employees and residents.
- Chamber Business EXPO was set up and established as an annual event to promote and profile some of the island’s best businesses.
- ‘Quality in Business’ (QiB) which was created and set up as a unique business improvement tool for Island Businesses to use to help grow their businesses.
- Isle of Wight’s Business Ambassador Scheme has been recently established and includes the establishment of an inward investment website ‘Invest Isle of Wight’. The aim of this work is to promote the Isle of Wight as a great place to come and set up a business and to increase the number of high value, high skilled jobs on the Isle of Wight.
- IW Chamber Mini MBA was established in 2017 to provide a comprehensive understanding of fundamental management skills, through accelerated learning and a structured curriculum and is delivered by recognised experts in their field.
Some of Kevin’s earlier work for the Isle of Wight Chamber has included;
- Being one of the leading voices to proactively campaign in 2000 for the return of the Isle of Wight Music Festival, in the face of much opposition. At the time Kevin said that the Island should use its musical heritage to build on the historic music events of the late 60’s and 1970 which he believed would attract a younger generation of visitors to know and become aware of the Isle of Wight.
- In 2003 he also led a delegation to Number 10 Downing Street to petition the Government to recognise the Isle of Wight as an ‘Island economy’ and to provide the appropriate financial support to the Isle of Wight that most other Islands across Europe received; to date this is still an ongoing campaign.
- Several initiatives that Kevin has created and set up have now become national initiatives including the national brand of ‘Young Chamber’. This idea was designed to help young people to plan for future jobs and careers and was supported by the UK Government through the support of a successful national pilot, working with over 300,000 students and over 9,000 businesses in just two years. Young Chamber is now run and managed by the British Chambers of Commerce.
- Kevin also created and set up the ‘national standard’ of Investment in Young People(IiYP), which recognises the important contribution that UK businesses make in supporting young people into employment.
- Through the work of Young Chamber and IiYP, Kevin has, since 2013, been managing the Government’s ‘Enterprising Britain Awards’, (EBAs) on behalf of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills. The Enterprising Britain Awards celebrate successful local enterprise activity and achievement from across the country and involve community and business leaders as champions of enterprise.
