The Great Transformation – CEO Update – September 2022

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his workforce age has been designated “the great resignation.”  I prefer to think of it as “the great transformation.”  Here in Greater Manchester, I see transformation occurring all around me. Change, which used to be more of an anomaly, has now become a commonality. Businesses are no longer doing things the way they have always been done.  Individuals are no longer staying in jobs because they always have.  Instead, we are bolder, braver, and less daunted by change. Yes, this climate has its challenges, but it also influences a wave of courage and opportunity.

A New Chapter

As the new President and CEO of your Greater Manchester Chamber, I am thrilled to transform this strong organization into its next chapters. When I joined the GMC team five years ago, I already had a love for Manchester born from a decade of cooperative development non-profit work.  This passion has been amplified by all the amazing people I’ve met through the Chamber. Daily, I witness brilliant minds tackling big problems – one conversation at a time. I am eager to expand our Chamber’s impact by forging new collaborations and alliances that push progress on the city, state and regional level. Meaningful expansion of our Chamber’s partnerships within the incredible eco-system that surrounds us, is how we widen our lens and bring more resources to you, our members.

Spirit of Expansion

I hope you have seen some recent effects of this spirit of expansion. Our Chamber is proud to have collaborated with the City of Manchester to bring the Taco Tour back to life after a two-year hiatus. Leading a city-scale event that attracted over 20,000 visitors was a new and exciting position for the GMC! We are encouraged by the response from participating restaurants, sponsors, and taco-eaters. It was also great to see how many businesses utilized Taco Tour Manchester as an employee team-building activity. We look forward to continuing to execute this key, popular event and thank GMC’s Master of Taco, Cole Riel, for his dedication that made this year such a success.

Stay tuned for another upcoming development – the GMC’s website redesign. Our new website will better connect and showcase our members, as well as assist with workforce development resources, tourism and young professional attraction.  Our Director of Marketing & Communications, Lauren Getts, is behind the new palette of tools and resources, leading this redesign on the heels of the GMC rebrand. We are eager to use our website as an effective vehicle for information for our members and the community at large. We hope you will find our “Boldly Going” mantra embodied in the content and feel of these new pages and look forward to revealing the new site to you when completed.

Meet & Greet!

Lastly, I’d like to welcome you to stop into the Chamber to chat!  Through the end of this year, I have open office hours the second Wednesday of every month from 1-3pm.  As we shape our future, candid member feedback provides invaluable insight for our team.  Please drop in to talk about your business needs and Chamber experience.  How can the GMC best support and bolster your business? What ideas do you have, big or small?  During our time of transition — nay transformation — we are revisioning new ways to execute our mission and we need to hear from you.  These conversations create a stronger, more connected business community that can reach new heights, together.

Thank you for your investment to support our Chamber’s work.  I am honored to serve as your new GMC leader and look forward to talking with you soon.

Heather McGrail
President & CEO
Greater Manchester Chamber