THE SECOND ever female president has been appointed at Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce – and she was inspired by King Charles III to take up the role,
Sandra Godley takes over from Steve Harcourt, director of Prime Accountants Group, and will hold the post for two years after being elected by the Chamber board.
For the first time, the Chamber has separated the presidential role from the chair of the business board to open it up to a broader list of candidates.
After an interview process this autumn, Sandra – who has a background in business, music, broadcasting and charity work – was chosen as the stand-out candidate and revealed how HM The King played a part in her pushing herself forward for the post.
She said: “I am absolutely thrilled and honoured to become the new Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce president.
“I decided quite late in the day to go for it. I was awarded an OBE for services to charities and music last year, which I was completely surprised by. It comes with a huge scroll, which is signed by King Charles III, and it talks about giving back and passing on the baton.
“This role felt like a really positive way of doing that and so it inspired me to put myself forward. This is a very progressive Chamber and I want to use my experience and knowledge to help the team build on that.”
Sandra was born in Bristol – her father was part of the Windrush generation – but, at the age of eight, the family moved to Jamaica.
They moved back to the UK shortly after and, after living in Derby and then Loughborough, she moved to Coventry after landing a role with Coventry Cathedral. She later became business development manager for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
Her dream of being a singer was fulfilled, recording albums and winning awards before becoming a well-known voice on the regional airwaves as a broadcaster with the BBC.
Sandra has also worked with a range of charities including Feed The Hungry, Positive Youth Foundation and Mind.
She continued: “I have worked with a wide variety of charities. I really enjoyed supporting Positive Youth Foundation and helping to inspire young people to follow their dreams.
“When I performed on the main stage at Godiva Festival, some of the young people were with me which was great.”
Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce’s only previous female president was Dr Isabella Moore, who later became the British Chambers of Commerce first female president.
Sandra added: “I don’t want it just to be about me being a woman – the first black woman – to be president of our Chamber of Commerce as I want to bring all of my experience in business, storytelling and my love of this region to the role.”
Steve Harcourt said: “I have loved my two years as president and I am a little bit sad to be handing over the presidential chain of office to signify the end of this chapter. I have learnt such a lot in my time within this role.
“But I cannot think of anyone better than Sandra to take us forward and I wish her every success.”
