North East Chamber of Trade

Morpeth Rotary members were delighted to have Lesley Moody, OBE, to speak to themabout her role as President of The North East Chamber of Commerce. She received an MBE in 2015 and an OBE in 2022.

Lesley, set up AES Digital Solutions Ltd, in 1992, with her business partner, Joe Telford, after leaving her career as a teacher. She lives in Morpeth and a number of the audience knew her from her previous work.

Lesley explained the range of services the NE Chamber of Commerce offers to their members, including access to the 50 full time staff who help them deal with issues ranging from the new customs system to the complicated furlough forms and payments during the pandemic.

The Chamber has many visiting speakers from government and good communications withWhitehall. They constantly campaign for the best possible working environment for North East companies.

The Chamber President is expected to host working lunches and meetings, and be the public face of the Chamber. She has has been President for three years and enjoyed the work immensely. Hers has been the longest Presidency in over 200 years of the Chambers history, partly due to what had to be done during the Covid emergency. While her presidency will soon be coming to an end, Lesley will continue to serve the Chamber as Vice Chairman of the Board, helping to make policy that will drive North East business forward.

The vote of thanks was by Alan Moody (no relation) of Moody Logistics at Cramlington. He thanked Lesley for finding the time in her very busy schedule to visit.