Chamber’s President & CEO to retire at end of 2024

Sandra Ferri, who has led the Aurora Chamber of Commerce for the last seven years as President & CEO, will retire at the end of this year.

Ferri, who took the helm of the Chamber, announced her retirement at the Aurora Chamber of Commerce's Annual General Meeting on Thursday afternoon.

Since her appointment to the position, she has led the Chamber and, in turn, Aurora's business community, through the global pandemic and has spearheaded several ongoing initiatives that have underscored the importance of advocacy for the local business community and, of course, shopping local.

“This is a very significant announcement as Sandra has seen the Chamber through the difficult times of COVID, providing a level of support that was unparalleled by any other Chamber, and she worked tirelessly to ensure that our businesses were provided the support and advocacy that they required over that period,” said the Chamber in its announcement. “Sandra has been instrumental in starting up the many business supports we have in place, and in applying for and receiving government funding to support our entrepreneurs and businesses. The Aurora Chamber of Commerce has a reputation for being a chamber that cares about its members and the primary reason our members feel that way is because of Sandra and the caring environment that she has built at the Chamber. It is also one of the reasons why the Chamber is flourishing now. Sandra has agreed, however, to continue to consult with the Chamber on programming and strategy. So, it's likely that you will still see Sandra around Town.

“The Chamber has been very proactive and deliberate about succession planning and last year announced that Alison Mumford was joining the Chamber as the Director of Operations. The second part of this announcement, is that Alison Mumford will be assuming the role of Executive Director as of January 1st, 2025. Alison came into the role of Director of Operations with much enthusiasm and dedication. In her current role she has already taken over many of the day-to-day operations of the Chamber and will continue to grow her responsibilities in preparation for her new role as Executive Director.”

But, until then, it will be full speed ahead for Ferri and her team. Upcoming events include the Aurora Chamber Golf Day, which will take place at Westview Gold Club on September 10; Business Engaging Youth at the Royal Venetian Mansion on October 9; and their signature Business Excellence Celebration, again at the Royal Venetian, on October 23.

For more on these events and other Chamber initiatives, visit aurorachamber.on.ca.

“I want to better understand what our members' needs are and I want to look at what our current offerings are to them and make sure they're in synch,” Ferri told The Auroran when she took the job in 2017, following a similar position with the Vaughan Chamber of Commerce. “My experience with the Vaughan Chamber really brought out my passion for business. It's a very different community than Aurora in terms of the size and number of businesses, but there are similarities for sure. There are a lot of entrepreneurial businesses and I think there is the sense of building a community for business people, along with celebrating business within the community and helping build businesses to grow and prosper.”

By Brock Weir