The Windsor-Essex Regional Chamber of Commerce is gearing up for its 148th annual Annual General Meeting (AGM) this week that will feature a high profile keynote speaker.
Board chair Tal Czudner will first address the audience with his year end report.
Czudner says looking back at 2024, the region has seen a fair amount of movement in terms of construction, including at the NextStar Energy Battery Plant, which has them looking ahead.
"Ideally in 2025, some further direction in terms of completing the Gordie Howe Bridge, really moving forward on the hospital, and the Chamber's goal specifically are tied to trying to get all of these businesses working together and they continue to offer value to the members."
Stellantis Canada CEO Jeff Hines is set to give a keynote address to attendees, and Czudner says his remarks will be highly anticipated given recent events.
"Candidly, Stellantis is a lot more interesting topic than it was a couple weeks ago because the international CEO of Stellantis has stepped down, so every senior leadership person at Stellantis is getting phone calls and requests for meetings, and we're fortunate enough to have somebody who is in charge of Stellantis Canada in town on Wednesday."
He says Hines will give attendees good insight into the automotive industry in terms of planning two to three years in advance.
"Stellantis as a company is visionary, so I always think it's interesting to see what those companies who are forced to look into the future have to say, and realistically, there's a lot of jobs in Windsor-Essex that are tied to Stellantis, not only them directly, but also through tier 1 and tier 2 suppliers."
The AGM, which is free to attend for voting members, and following keynote address will take place Wednesday Dec. 11 at noon at the Ciociaro Club.
Those wishing to attend the luncheon and keynote are required to pay $50 for members and $75 for future-members.
More information can be found here: https://business.windsoressexchamber.org/events/details/148th-annual-general-meeting-and-luncheon-presented-by-windsor-port-authority-1332.