Five local Chambers of Commerce support diverse business precincts in the City of Ryde. They are:
- Gladesville - President: Reg Cain, phone 9879 6020 - website
- Eastwood - President: Peter Sullivan, phone 9874 1464, website
- North Ryde Macquarie Park - President: Ray Gleeson, phone 9809 1888, website
- Ryde - President: Tony Abboud, phone 9809 1299, website
- West Ryde - President: Michael Nelson, phone 9874 2876 website
In addition to these Chambers, we have Epping Chamber of Commerce (President, Robert Camerson, phone 9869 3888, website) on our boundary, straddling council areas; the Korean Chamber of Commerce (President, Kenny Lee,
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), the Chinese Business Community (President Brad Chan,
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) and the Armenian Chamber of Commerce (President, Rita Lepedjian, phone 8005 2240, website) while not specific to any boundary have the many of their members operating businesses within the City of Ryde.
While the Forum works on a strategic level, lobbying to government on behalf of single Chambers on some issues and all Chambers on others, and addressing issues that affect the City of Ryde as a whole, Chambers of Commerce tend to be tactical, focusing on issues that affect their local business precinct directly.
Like the Forum our local Chambers meet monthly, and you'll find details of their upcoming meetings on our Events calendar. These meetings provide networking opportunities for Chamber members, and also highlight details of news pertinent to the local area - new developments, legislation etc. You'll often find local Councillors attending Chamber meetings too. Chambers of Commerce play a vital role in local business, providing a united voice on issues of importance. Local Chambers send a regular newsletter to their members keeping them informed of events and news. We are fortunate that we have strong and active Chambers of Commerce in our City.
We have many members in the Forum who are also members of local Chambers of Commerce; both the Forum and Chambers fill different needs for people and businesses. If you are in business in Ryde, we cannot recommend highly enough joining a local business association, whether it's the Forum or your Chamber. If you're interested in finding out what kind of association membership suits you best, contact the Forum on 9807 4999. If we think you'll gain more benefit by joining your local Chamber rather than the Forum, we'll be honest and tell you.
The Forum often co-hosts events with local Chambers, such as Business After Hours, so members of both organisations can benefit from meeting more people at bigger functions. We co-host daytime events (eg breakfasts) with other Chambers when the topic is something relevant to that Chamber's area, ie the Epping-Chatswood Rail Link, which affects North Ryde/Macquarie Park.
