South Wales Chamber of Commerce, which represents more than a thousand businesses from Newtown to Pembroke, is gearing up for the next phase of its growth by aligning its structure to Wales’ new city regions and focusing on building even stronger relationships with its members.

The new approach will see Graham Morgan step aside as chamber director as part of changes which involve recruiting for three new posts - a head of operations and two regional relationship managers, one each for the Swansea and Cardiff Capital City regions.

At the same time, Keith Palmer – who heads the parent body behind the Chamber and Centre for Business - and the elected representatives of chamber members in Cardiff, Swansea and Mid Wales, will take the lead on the organisation’s external relationships.

Keith Palmer, group chief executive of Newport and Gwent Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, said: “The chamber has come a long way over the last five years under Graham’s leadership. He has done a sterling job in getting us to this point by introducing structure, rigour and process to the organisation.

“We now want to build on this, preserving all that Graham introduced while focusing more on the added value we can bring to our members and on strengthening the team with these new appointments."

Graham Morgan, 57 from Cardiff, who joined the chamber in 2009 after holding the position of senior director for NatWest in Wales, has helped knit together the different organisations which merged to form the South Wales Chamber.

During this period, he has spearheaded two flagship initiatives: the development of the South Wales Chamber’s Quarterly Economic Survey, which now encompasses the whole of Wales and is seen as a barometer of the Welsh economy, and the launch of the South Wales Chamber’s annual manifesto, the Campaign for Welsh Business.

Mr Morgan’s other achievements include building the chamber’s influence in policy making by contributing to the development of Welsh Government strategy in key areas such as economic renewal and the development of Cardiff Airport. He has also driven forward the chamber’s international work, including winning a Welsh Government contract to deliver International Trade Opportunities and establishing a close relationship with the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC).

The three new positions will be advertised towards the end of March.