BCCEC Board Members (2010 – 2011) present at the organization’s Press Conference on May 24, 2011 include: Front row (L-R): Chester Cooper, Khaalis Rolle and Winston Rolle. Back row (L-R): Philip Simon, Pauline Petty, Peter Goudie, Azaleta Ishmael-Newry, Brian Nutt, Michele Rassin and Robert Myers. Missing are: Tim Covington, Gershan Major, Yvette Sands, Edison Sumner, Franon Wilson, Gus Cartwright, Hubert Edwards, Michelle Patterson, Randy Butler and Merrit Storr. Photo by Brian Moodie.

Nassau, Bahamas -- Earlier this year, two advocacy organizations, the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and the Bahamas Employers Confederation (BECon) came together to create the new Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation (BCCEC). 

Both organizations had a long, rich history.  “We shared similar principles and we had collaborated over the years on many different initiatives,” said Khaalis Rolle, the chairman of the BCCEC. Some of those projects included working together on Education Reform, the Universal Health Care Initiative as well as the establishment of the Chamber Institute. 

Brian Nutt, who had headed BECon before the merger and now sits on the board of the BCCEC further explained, “We realized that merging would bring better synergies to what both organizations were working towards and we are also able to offer a stronger value proposition to our members.  They get the benefit of two strong organizations for one membership fee.”

One of the partners steering the merger was the International Labour Organization (ILO) who offered consultancy services and assisted in a survey with all social partners (members of both organizations, the Government and the Unions); to help build the new structure and their delivery requirements.

“We had to make sure that we captured all that was necessary for both entities,” said Khaalis Rolle and therefore, the new mission statement of the BCCEC reads: " To serve as the premier business and employers’ organization for leadership, education and advocacy in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, through the development and promotion of trade activity as well as the interests of the employers on all social and labour issues within the context of true tri-partism, in national and international forums.”

“We also wanted to have value-added services to help our membership and businesses,” continued Rolle.  To support this, he referred to the Chamber Institute that has recently been refocused and revamped by Ian Ferguson of the BCCEC. The Chamber Institute offers business related training at affordable rates to the membership and public.  The response has been positively overwhelming and for the past 3 months, the Chamber Institute has rolled out seminars and workshops covering labour relations, occupational safety and health, mediation and conciliation, business communication, strategy for leaders and service recovery.

Another welcomed addition to the new structure was the implementation of a help desk that focuses on human resources and labour relations. The objective is to make this kind of knowledge available in a cost effective manner, to the small or medium size business that may not have the access to, or the in-house resources for such expertise.

Today, the operational structure of the BCCEC is more dynamic and beneficial for the board members and the public they serve. The day-to-day affairs are managed by a full time CEO, (past Chamber President, Winston Rolle) who reports to the board of directors. Instead of a president having the power as it was in the past, there is now a chairman with a board of directors responsible for driving the initiatives and operations of the BCCEC.

BCCEC Chairman, Khaalis Rolle (right) thanks director and designer of the BCCEC logo, Azaleta Ishmael-Newry (left) for donating her talent and services for the re-branding of the new Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation. The BCCEC logo reflects the dynamic organization and includes the colours of the Bahamian flag (yellow, turquoise and black). The yellow swirls signifies the sun; the turquoise wave, the ocean; and the white conch shell has been modernized and remains as a token to the previous Chamber logo which incorporated the conch shell many years ago to symbolize the vibrancy of business in The Bahamas. Photo by Peter Goudie.

Also implemented are 10 divisions that operate under the umbrella of the BCCEC.  These divisions are the engine of the organization and they include: Education and Training, Employment and Labour Relations, OYP - Organization of Young Professionals, Business Development, SME (Small and Medium Enterprise), Trade and Commerce, Energy and Environment, Business Security and Crime, Finance and Fundraising and a Family Islands Division.

The new changes reflect the new vision: “To be the premier representative body of the business community in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, through advocacy and the provision of value added services, essential to their growth and development.”

As the current chairman Khaalis Rolle gets ready to demit his post in June, he said that he was proud to be at the helm to see the merger become a reality. “My primary goal after becoming President was to modernize the infrastructure of the Chamber, improve our value proposition to our members and to create a sustainable revenue generating model.  I am comfortable that this was accomplished through the merger, the launch of the Chamber Institute and the implementation of several of the initiatives that will make this entity a strong engine that will help drive the private sector’s agenda.”

The Chairman was also grateful to the unwavering commitment of the team.  A few examples include the donation of legal services by director, Meritt Storr that saved the BCCEC an enormous amount of expenses as well as the creation and re-branding of the new logo and corporate stationery by director, Azaleta Ishmael-Newry, a PR and Marketing Specialist, who also designed the logo for the OYP.  Many other persons on the board and past board members and presidents also donated their expertise and hours of work to make the merger a reality, including business leaders, Dionisio D’Aguilar, Felix Stubbs, Brian Nutt, Gershan Major, Robert Myers, Pauline Petty and Philip Simon. Michelle Patterson, who chaired the committee, was very instrumental in ensuring the on-going and forward progress continued.

The BCCEC Logo reflects the dynamic organization and includes the colours of the Bahamian flag (yellow, turquoise and black). The yellow swirls in the logo signifies the sun; the turquoise wave, the ocean; and the white conch shell has been modernized and remains as a token to the previous Chamber logo which incorporated the conch shell many years ago to symbolize the vibrancy of business in The Bahamas.

The merger between The Chamber and BeCon and is being touted as a success story throughout the Caribbean and the ILO. “In fact,” said Khaalis Rolle, “Bermuda’s private sector has already contacted the Bahamas Chamber of Commerce and Employers Confederation to seek advice on a similar initiative and this is a compliment to the persons who worked on the merger.”

For more information on the BCCEC, please visit www.thebahamaschamber.com.