Oakville Chamber of Commerce
caroline-hughes
The Board of Directors of the Oakville Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that Caroline Hughes has officially begun her term as Board Chair. Caroline was sworn in at the Oakville Chamber’s Annual General Meeting on Thursday, September 8,2016.
Caroline has served as a member of the Chamber Board of Directors since 2010 and she has served on the Oakville Chamber’s Executive Committee as Vice-Chair of the Chamber Board since 2012.
“Caroline brings a wealth of business experience and knowledge to her new role that will undoubtedly contribute to the ongoing success of the Oakville Chamber” said Immediate Past Chair Kerry Colborne. “For six years she has provided her expertise to the Board as a director and we look forward to her leadership in the coming year.”
Caroline Hughes is the Vice President, Government Relations at Ford Motor Company of Canada, Ltd., where she and her staff conduct strategic analyses and dialogue with all levels of government regarding public policy and economic issues of importance to Ford of Canada and the Canadian vehicle industry. Ms. Hughes is also responsible for developing Ford of Canada’s long-range forecasts for new vehicle sales in Canada, and for evaluating and reporting Canadian economic trends to Ford’s global corporate economics office.
Ms. Hughes has more than 25 years’ experience with Ford Motor Company of Canada, having worked in several capacities within Ford’s Finance and Canadian Vehicle Sales Division. Ms. Hughes holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto and an M.B.A. (Finance) from the Schulich School of Business, York University.
Immediate Past Chair Kerry Colborne has completed a two-year term as Chair of the Board and Oakville Chamber President John Sawyer congratulates her on an outstanding job. “Kerry’s background and experience have helped frame our research, comments and recommendations throughout her two years as Chair. A significant achievement during her term was the Oakville Chamber earning its Accreditation with Distinction from the Chamber Accreditation Council of Canada. This level of accreditation has only been awarded to 9% of the Chambers and Boards of Trade in Canada. Accreditation recognizes Chambers that follow the highest standards of governance, programming and policy.”
In the 67 year history of the Chamber Kerry was the sixth Chair to serve two consecutive terms as Chair of the Board.
Kerry Colborne will be recognized at the Annual Chair’s Dinner, where Caroline Hughes, along with the incoming Board of Directors, will be introduced to the community. This formal evening includes a networking reception, dinner and silent auction.
The Oakville Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that this year’s guest speaker will be Dianne Craig, President and CEO of Ford Motor Company of Canada.
“We are excited to have Dianne Craig as our special guest speaker” said John Sawyer, President of the Oakville Chamber. “Ford has been an important part of the Oakville community for 64 years and has been a supportive and active Oakville Chamber member for 56 years. Ford is by far the largest private sector employer in Halton Region, so we are pleased to present our members and the community with the opportunity to hear directly from Ford Motor Company of Canada’s President and CEO.”
