Former Rotorua Chamber of Commerce president John McRae has taken up a new role with the Rotorua Lakes Council's Economic Development organisation.

John takes over as chairman of the board for the council-controlled organisation Rotorua Economic Development (RED) and replaces Auckland-based businessman Peter Stubbs who chaired the organisation for the last three years.

Taking over as acting president of the Rotorua chamber is its current vice-president Kiri Tahana.

John has been appointed for a three-year term and is a chartered accountant and a partner at local accounting and financial services consultancy Deloitte and comes with 15 years' experience as a chief executive and director.

He works primarily in the areas of governance and management and holds a number of other positions including chairman of the Rotorua Community Youth Centre Trust, is a director on the commercial arm of Tauhara North No.2 Trust and is an advisor to several other local trusts and businesses.

John says he's ready for the challenge of helping Rotorua recover from the Covid-19 crisis.

"I think it's important to have good connectivity locally and I've lived here for over 30 years now.

"Rotorua Economic Development has the resources and the ability to make real change for the better," he says.

"We know there is a lot of pain out there economically and we will need to pick ourselves up and start running again.
"I see this as an opportunity to rethink what we offer to our visitors, which will be domestic for quite some time, so we'll have to up our game.
"In terms of the forestry sector, we are still very strong but it's also a good time to rethink our strategy in terms of our Wood First policy and getting added value from our exports."

John says some businesses may not make it out of the current crisis but he said the board would be doing its best to help everyone recover over the coming years.

Council chief executive Geoff Williams says John is already very much in the hot seat.
'We're very happy to now have him around the table, providing vital direction and contribution to the economic recovery response council and Rotorua Economic Development are facilitating," says Geoff.
'John is very invested locally and is a keen champion of local business.
'He comes with a wide range of public and private sector experience and importantly, brings extensive local knowledge and networks and that will be absolutely invaluable as we work with our various business sectors to build a local recovery.”

Geoff also acknowledged the contribution of Peter Stubbs saying he has been instrumental in leading RED through the merging of Destination Rotorua and Grow Rotorua.
'His strong strategic focus has provided the platform for RED's current and future success in growing economic development for Rotorua,” says Geoff.
The council has also approved three board member appointments to RED for a three-year term. They are Mana Newton, Aaron Donelley and Tim Cossar.
They will join current board members Dr Ganesh Nana and Christopher Auld and will replace outgoing board members Andy Higgs and James Fitzgerald.

In a statement on its website, the Rotorua Chamber of Commerce board thanked John for his five years of service.

"During that time [John] has played a leading part in moving the chamber from a position of vulnerability to the financially robust and proactive organisation that serves the business community today.

"We thank John for his excellent services and wish him well in his new role," the statement said.

Miriam Hewson has been appointed to vice-president of the chamber to replace Kiri Tahana.