Benita Cattalini

Recently appointed as the new CEO of Albany Chamber of Commerce (ACCI), Benita Cattalini met with Diana Currie back in May over coffee at the Alkaline Café.

Benita moved to Albany in 2017 having had an extensive career employed in government, community and the private sector which included travelling through many parts of Western Australia.

Benita’s extensive portfolio encompassed leadership roles around rural communities and working for a range of government departments, from the Prime Minister’s office to the Ag Department and Indigenous Affairs.

Benita’s energy and enthusiasm for rural communities, her own business experience and understanding of government processes was clearly part of the reason for her successful appointment as the new CEO of the ACCI.

Benita’s social justice motives are driven by a deep passion to assist communities, particularly the plight of women in remote and rural communities.  To “scratch that itch” (in Benita’s words), an opportunity arose in 2016 to volunteer for one year in East Timor, supporting a Community Based women’s group advocating for gender equality and reducing gender-based violence.

Benita was immersed in the community and learned to speak “Tetun” the local language while gaining the trust of and working with the local communities to shift the focus of gender violence by involving the men of those communities. A shift in thinking was achieved while recognising the negative economic and social impacts of gender violence.

Benita promoted a culture of continuous improvement and building resilience into this community while using the feedback process to reflect and attempt to improve outcomes.

As Benita was explaining this unique experience it highlighted to me her bravery and commitment to helping people.  This trait combined with her other experiences and passion to develop and support the Albany community is a belief which rings true of Benita’s ethos - Help the people in the community thrive, this helps business survive and thrive – everyone benefits.

Benita had been appointed for just 4 weeks to the CEO role at the ACCI, when we met and was keen to share her beliefs in the ACCI Board’s new strategic direction guided by three pillars:

The first - the ACCI will commit to undertaking more research and knowledge to allow advocacy for its members.

The second - to dedicate more energy into knowledge sharing using innovation hubs, for example identifying further opportunities for members through existing organisations like the Development Commission, Albany Business Centre, the Amazing South Coast, the Denmark Chamber and many others. Another example is offering a “Business Growth Program”. Other formal networking through leadership and management training and the continuation of the informal Business after Hours events. “Speed Networking” is a new project mooted, whereby time poor business operators can connect with suppliers and tradespeople for small and large project work.

The third pillar is to support the organisation’s sustainability by making good use of resources and accessing outside support for the work that the Chamber does.

The ACCI will continue to connect with its members through a digital newsletter, improvements to the website and Facebook, (and, yes, the ACCI Directory will continue –currently in its 41st edition).

Benita explained the ACCI was established in Albany in 1892 and its vision is still current today - the ACCI should be the go-to-place for the business community for all things business related.

Benita is married with three adult children.  Her daughter is married and living in Denmark and has just had her first child.  She also has two sons, one studying and the other has just returned from working in the Moria refugee camp in Greece. Together with her husband, Benita also works in their business which services the mining industry in Malaysia, Australia, Mexico, USA and Indonesia.

You will see Benita cycling around town (even with a light drizzle!). Make sure you say hello and start a conversation – she is a great listener and advocate for the Great Southern.

The ACCI is in good hands!

Visit

The Albany Chamber of Commerce and Industry
76 Collie St, Albany 
9845 7888
admin@albanycci.com.au
https://www.albanycci.com.au/