Michael Alfant
ACCJ President
malfant@accj.or.jp
I feel honored to have been elected as the 52nd President of the ACCJ. I want to take the opportunity of my first “President’s Message” to lay out some of our high-level objectives for 2011.
I will make it an absolute priority during my term as president to really focus on engaging new ACCJ members. We typically bring in around 600 new members each year, and more can be done to energize those members and teach them how to get the most out of their Chamber membership. My belief is that new members often find it difficult to contribute to the Chamber in a meaningful way. I’ll be emphasizing attendance at New Member Orientation events as part of a comprehensive “on boarding” process. The Membership Relations Committee (MRC) will play a pivotal role in helping to define and carry out this initiative. In addition, I view the implementation of an ACCJ SNS (Social Networking Site) as something that must happen in the first half of 2011. Our Communications Advisory Council will take the lead on the SNS. I envision increased engagement as a critical driver of membership value perception for both new and existing members.
We’ll also look at ways that the Chamber can help promote and facilitate entrepreneurship. Given my background as an entrepreneur in Japan these last 20 years, this is a topic near and dear to my heart. While I have some thoughts on this, I’d really love to hear from our members and get their ideas and concepts out on the table. Entrepreneurship can help drive growth in the Japanese economy, something that would serve the interests of all members. Working within the scope of our current Chamber activities, I will pursue every opportunity to promote the success of our SME member firms this year.
Quite a lot of time and energy will be spent in 2011 helping to support our advocacy efforts. Advocacy is the single most important activity we engage in at the ACCJ and refining our approach and resourcing might very well provide significant benefits on a long term basis. We’re very fortunate to have a fantastic policy team covering a diverse mix of industries and topics in a substantive and deep manner. We’ll continue to apply our energies across the board and build upon our existing body of work on the Growth Strategy Task Force, Internet Economy White Paper, APEC White Paper, and other advocacy projects. The Chamber is considered the “thought leader” on a wide range of business issues in the Asia Pacific region, a position we’ve earned through the consistent delivery of quality work spanning decades of investment. I’ll do everything I can this year to allow us to continue to play this vital role.
With your support, as president, I am confident that we can continue to address each of the constituencies represented in the Chamber in a forthright and transparent manner. I’m really looking forward to working with each of you in 2011 and wish you every success in your business and personal lives. It’s my intention to be as open and communicative as possible during my term. I invite everyone reading this to contact me to discuss any Chamber issues you feel might be relevant.
