This week marks Helen Wylde-Archibald’s first anniversary as CEO of Devon Chamber of Commerce. Here, Helen reflects not on milestones, but on what a year of listening to Devon’s businesses has taught her – from the case for resilience and advocacy to the future of work.
The traditional thing to do would be to look back and talk about achievements, milestones, and statistics. But if you don’t mind, I would rather share with you what I think I have learnt and how much this year and working with you all has meant to me personally.
What has struck me most over the last twelve months is not what the Chamber has done, but what I have learnt from the businesses, organisations and people that make up our membership and our wider business community.
It has been a privilege to spend the past year listening. Listening to entrepreneurs taking their first steps. Listening to family businesses that have served Devon for generations. Listening to growing SMEs, global exporters, manufacturers, creative firms, farmers, technology companies, charities, educators, defence organisations, and public-sector partners. What I have learnt is simple:
Devon’s businesses are remarkable. You are all remarkable.
Devon Businesses are resilient, innovative, and deeply committed to the communities they serve. Yet they are operating in one of the most challenging and uncertain environments many can remember.
Economic pressures, workforce shortages, changing technology, geopolitical uncertainty, energy security concerns, and rapidly evolving customer expectations have become everyday realities. In that context, I have come to appreciate more than ever why the Chamber matters. Of course, people often associate Chambers of Commerce with networking.
Bringing people together remains an important part of what we do, and valuable relationships are often the starting point for growth, collaboration, and opportunity. But the Chamber’s role is much bigger than networking. I now understand what we are here to do as the Devon Chamber.
Our purpose is to help create the conditions in which businesses can not only survive but thrive.
That means championing resilience. It means helping businesses prepare for uncertainty rather than simply reacting to it. Through our resilience campaign and the conversations, it has sparked, I have seen first-hand how organisations are thinking more broadly about workforce resilience, cyber resilience, supply chain resilience, financial resilience, and leadership resilience.
Because in today’s world, resilience is no longer a nice-to-have. It is a business necessity. This is the new normal.
I have also learnt that advocacy matters more than ever. Too often, decisions affecting Devon are made elsewhere. Yet Devon is not peripheral. We are strategically important to the UK’s future.
We are home to nationally significant food production and agricultural expertise. We play a critical role in energy and environmental innovation. We have a defence sector that contributes directly to national security. Our ports, marine assets, advanced manufacturers, digital businesses, universities, and research institutions all make a significant contribution to the wider economy.
As discussions continue around devolution, mayoral leadership, and regional investment, it is more important than ever that the voice of business is heard clearly and consistently.
Devon matters. We must make sure that Devon businesses are heard.
One of the lessons I have learnt this year is that businesses do not simply need representation in times of crisis. They need representation all the time. They need organisations willing to speak up, convene partners, challenge decisions where necessary and champion opportunities that might otherwise be overlooked. That is a responsibility the Chamber takes seriously.
Looking ahead, the issue that perhaps occupies my thoughts more than any other is the future of work. Across Devon, employers are asking profound questions about skills, productivity, technology, and talent. Artificial intelligence, automation, and digital transformation are changing workplaces at extraordinary speed. At the same time, businesses are grappling with recruitment challenges and seeking the next generation of talent. As the future of work emerges LSIP and our work with NextGen become increasingly important to what we do.
If Devon is to succeed in the decades ahead, we must create stronger pathways between education and employment, inspire young people about the opportunities available here and give businesses access to the skills they need to grow.
We must ensure that the next generation sees Devon not simply as a wonderful place to live, but as a place where they can build ambitious careers, create innovative businesses and shape the future. Because whilst Devon’s natural beauty is rightly celebrated, our greatest asset remains our people.
After twelve months in the role, I remain optimistic. Not because the challenges facing business are small. They are not.
But because every week I meet business leaders who are investing, adapting, employing people, supporting communities, and finding new opportunities despite those challenges.
That optimism is reinforced every time I see businesses working together to solve problems, support one another and build something stronger than any organisation could achieve alone.
So, as I reflect on my first year as CEO, my overwhelming feeling is one of gratitude.
Thank you to our members, partners, our Boards, my team, volunteers and supporters for the welcome, candour, and encouragement you have given me.
The Chamber’s role is not to stand in front of Devon business. It is to stand alongside it.
I am proud of what we have achieved together over the last year, but even more excited about what comes next.
The future of Devon business is worth backing.
And I remain committed to ensuring that its voice is heard.
