The leader of one of the Sunshine Coast’s largest business groups has announced he will soon leave the role.
Brady Sullivan, who has been CEO of the Caloundra Chamber of Commerce for the past three years, will step down in October.
He said it had been a “privilege” to steer the long-running organisation, which provides networking, support and education to businesses; hosts the Sunshine Coast Regional Jobs Committee; and organises the Caloundra Street Fair and new Aura Farmers Markets.
Mr Sullivan said he was proud of the relationships he helped build within community, industry and government sectors.
“I’ve had the pleasure to meet and work with some amazing people across Queensland in this role and it has been a real honour to support them to engage with industry, community and government to build stronger businesses, grow their workforce and give back to the community,” he said.
Caloundra Chamber of Commerce treasurer Katrina Brennan thanked Mr Sullivan for his efforts.
“Caloundra Chamber has been able to help build a stronger and more diverse business community, supported our local kids to gain exposure to jobs of the future, and activated key retail locations while building strong communities through our Caloundra Markets,” she said.
“I am truly proud of the work our organisation does in the region and on behalf of the chamber and president Mike Shadforth we can’t thank Brady enough for his leadership of our operational team and support to continue to grow our organisation’s positive impact over the last few years.”
Mr Sullivan said the group had flourished in recent years.
“It has been quite a privilege to have been trusted by our management committee to take on this important community-facing role,” he said.
“I feel we have been able to not only grow our organisation in this time but importantly deliver some amazing outcomes.
“We have come through some tough times of the COVID pandemic and current financial pressures but there are some real highlights for me during this time such as obtaining tens of thousands of dollars for funding for mental health support for local businesses, working with government to build funding support towards major infrastructure and projects in the region, securing the hosting of the state-funded Sunshine Coast Regional Jobs Committee and last year running a campaign to win the Queensland Top Tourism Town award.
“I’ve had an amazing team around me, who have worked hard to achieve these things together.”
A suitable candidate will be sought to lead the operational team and support the organisation’s management committee.
Recruitment will soon open with aims to onboard Mr Sullivan’s replacement by October.
Mr Sullivan said he was unsure what his next steps would be, after taking some time off.
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