The Ottawa Board of Trade is turning to a former leader from one of its pre-amalgamation regional chambers to guide the organization as it searches for a new president and CEO.
The board announced Friday that Sueling Ching, former CEO of the West Ottawa Board of Trade, will replace outgoing chief executive Ian Faris on an interim basis.
Ching, who led the west Ottawa chamber before it merged with its counterparts in central Ottawa and Orléans last year, left the business organization after the amalgamation was complete to launch her own consulting firm focused on advocacy work.
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She told OBJ then that she planned to keep close ties with the newly merged Ottawa Board of Trade, and would be working with the organization on programs geared towards executive memberships and women in business.
Ching is no stranger to the business advocacy realm. In addition to spending three years as CEO of WOBOT, she acted as an executive director of Brockville’s chamber of commerce, later leading that region’s YMCA as CEO for several years.
“The Board of Trade plays a critical role in the growth of all businesses and the economic well-being of our community,” said Ching in a statement.
“I felt honoured last year to be part of the consolidation of our local chambers. It was a legacy move for our business community and now is the time to leverage our collective assets toward one main goal: the prosperity of Ottawa.”
Ching will hold the interim leadership for six months while the Board of Trade seeks a permanent president and CEO. The board announced last week that Faris, who had led the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce before the merger and kept the reins in the year that followed, would depart from the organization after six years at the helm of the organization.
