AmCham Ethiopia announced the election of Daryl Wilson, Managing Director of East Africa Bottling Share Company (Coca-Cola) as its board President. The announcement was made during AmCham’s 5th Annual General Assembly Meeting that was held on February 24, 2022, at Hilton Hotel. Daryl Wilson served as the board member and will bring decades of leadership experience to his new role. In his speech that outlined AmCham’s 2022 Strategic Goals, the incoming Board President Daryl Wilson stressed the importance of strengthening AmCham Ethiopia’s ability to continue engaging with all stakeholders and informing and influencing policy makers, as well as providing value to its members.
The outgoing Board President, Ermias Eshetu, has served Amcham with his visionary leadership and commitment for the last two years. In his Farewell speech to the General Assembly, Ermias reflected on the challenges of AmCham during his tenure ranging from the COVID 19 pandemic to the effects of the internal conflict. He took time to express his gratitude to the board members, the management, and the members of AmCham Ethiopia for their commitment, resilience, and efforts.
The Annual General Assembly also heeded the overview of AmCham’s 2021 operational and financial report. In his report, Hiroki Sayama, Board Vice President and Boeing’s Regional Manager of Africa, highlighted the accomplishments of AmCham including the membership outreach, training, networking events, and the efforts that were made to address members' needs and challenges. He stated that AmCham Ethiopia has been engaged with different government agencies to collaborate and create a public-private dialogue platform. He also stated that AmCham has been engaged with other peer organizations like Ethiopian Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations (ECCSA) by signing an MOU to coordinate their efforts to the common goods. In addition to looking out for its members' benefit, AmCham has also been committed to fulfilling its corporate social responsibilities by supporting NGOs like Orphan Care Ethiopia.
Selam Amare, AmCham Treasurer and Country leader of General Electric, presented a financial report of 2021 and the proposed budget of 2022 to the General Assembly. As a membership organization, Selam indicated, the continuous growth of AmCham Ethiopia is dependent on the active engagement and participation of its members. To ensure that members have more options and benefits, AmCham is working towards streamlining and expanding its membership packages.
Hana Alem, AmCham General Manager, provided highlights of the 2022 plan that will focus on materializing the strategic objective of AmCham. Hana stated that AmCham, with the support of its partners, will be hosting various engaging events, training, Executive breakfast forums and networking sessions that will be utilized as a platform to connect its members with other executives, policy makers, government agencies, diplomatic communities, and other stakeholders.
In her closing remark, AmCham Honorary Board Member Yasue Pai, reiterated that AmCham is here to provide value to its members and expressed her best wishes that 2022 will bring us more success and prosperity. She has also announced the arrival of the newly appointed US Ambassador Tracey Ann Jacobson and assured the members that the collaboration of AmCham Ethiopia, and the US embassy will continue under the new ambassador leadership.