Opening

Ryan, thank you for your introduction, your support and for your leadership at Foyle Port and we are very grateful for the port’s sponsorship of this event and for all they do for the region.

Lord Lieutenant, Deputy Mayor, elected representatives, , Chamber members, sponsors, partners, colleagues, friends and family — good evening.

Thank you all so much for making the effort to be here tonight in such horrendous conditions.

It is a privilege to speak to you as President of the Londonderry Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber aims to be the voice of business, present in places where decisions are being made and lobbying where influence is important. We have done that by meeting people in Washington, Boston, London, Belfast, Dublin and here at home in Derry. Through engagement with every single stakeholder, I hope that we have served our members well and that I have done the role of President justice.

I lead a group of engineering businesses called FNW Group based out of Donegal and across Northern Ireland, we have origins dating back to 1860. Along with the region we have experienced much over the decades – not all positive… but we, like all of you deserve a positive today and promising tomorrow.

Tonight I want to celebrate with you the successes of our city and region and outline the promise we have, and provide a vision… provide an intent — all of which I believe is achievable because I have seen how far we have already come, how hard people are working… and how ready our region is to seize the moment.

We are now at a rare point, a point of much promise. Over £2 billion of capital projects are promised affecting this region — motorways and arterial routes, town-centre regeneration, City Deal projects, university expansion, leisure and healthcare facilities and much more — are committed across the Derry and Strabane council area and in Donegal.

For our members and the wider private sector, this creates an enormous window, perhaps bubble, of potential and opportunity. If you are in business whether in construction, hospitality, retail or professional services this is a message to you: prepare.

Get and keep informed and gear up your teams accordingly. Lets make sure the impact of these investments is felt here first.

Yet, let’s be honest: some are still hesitant. For many within the private sector, Derry and the North West feels like a risk they’re not sure they can take. This will only change in real terms when we see delivery of the projects already promised – so we must deliver.

There will be speed bumps in the road— literally if you consider the current hold up with the A5. There will be funding gaps and timescales may stretch. But we must not lose patience or lose focus. We must be ready to meet each challenge head on and relentlessly push for delivery.

Practical Asks — What We Need from Partners

What does that mean in practice? It means having strong working partnerships with governments and their agencies – it also means holding them to account.

We welcome the Economy Minister’s clear commitment to regional balance, we welcome the work of Ulster University and of the Taskforce to drive forward the increase in student numbers to 10,000 and beyond and capitalize on the economic impact of the university expansion. I am aware that over the last few months the taskforce and the DfE team have been working hard to quantify the full financial impact of their plans. The Economy Minister has played her part to date, however delivery of the commitment in New Decade New Approach will require the full support of the Executive over a number of years. This must happen and Chamber will continue to hold the Executive to account on this matter.

In terms of all the capital works promised the Department of Infrastructure is central to delivery. As such, having key decision-makers from this department embedded in the project teams of the region is not a luxury—it is a necessity. Their involvement must be visible, strategic, and sustained.

We thank our development agencies Invest NI and Intertrade Ireland for their work. However, we also need them to be visible, strategic and sustained partners. We recognise the changes underway in Invest NI. There is a genuine will from this region for Invest NI to strategically embed itself fully here and make significant and positive impacts to our economic success.

It is encouraging to hear of a significant opportunity for City of Derry Airport highlighted in the Irelandia Pathfinder report for Aviation. The report identified our airport as a prime site for an MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) facility; we understand Invest NI and the Minister for Economy are working hard to progress this and the hundreds of jobs associated. Chamber fully supports this work.

Let’s be clear about our central message to all of our Government partners. This place is the second city of Northern Ireland, fourth on the island and coupled along with Letterkenny forms the beating heart of the wider North West City Region. We have all the attributes to be an economic powerhouse—scale, talent, culture, connectivity and importantly ambition. We are not just another sub-region. We cannot and should not be treated as one.

Wider Visioning —

Bare with me now while I lift our view beyond the vital projects already in motion and imagine the future of this region. The world is changing at a pace we have never seen before. Generative Artificial Intelligence is reshaping entrepreneurship, redefining industries, and has the potential to transform regional economies.

History teaches us that every great technological revolution produces winners and losers. The question is: why shouldn’t we aim to be among the winners? Why shouldn’t we be leading the charge?

Over the previous weeks, with thanks to Catalyst, we have been learning how AI can serve people in regions like ours en mass—by opening doors for those previously left behind, by lowering the bar for entry to be an entrepreneur, upskilling our SME’s to be more productive and allowing our public servants to achieve more with less. What’s not to love?

And we are not starting from zero. We have the enablers: a cross-border tertiary education cluster ready to pivot and expand; committed City Deal funding unlocking innovation in digital and robotic technologies;

This technology… AI…  needs powered, needs infrastructure. Here too, we have an edge: an abundance of renewable energy across Donegal and the Causeway Coast, and as we heard earlier we have Foyle Port—with its land bank, transport links, power, data connectivity, and the ambition to become a renewable energy and digital infrastructure hub – making it the regional utility platform and engine room of the future.

If that wasn’t enough we have world-class anchors in Vertiv—one of the world’s leading suppliers of power transmission for data centres—and Seagate, a global leader in data storage innovation and operating at the heart of UK government strategy in AI enablement.

Am I a dreamer to think that these are the building blocks of an AI regional economy, an economic powerhouse the envy of these islands? I’ll let you decide…

Ambitious Regional Collaboration

The delivery of our promise and any vision will only become reality if we work together through collective leadership.

‘Ambitious regional collaborations’ is the theme of my year as President… Derry and Strabane, Donegal, the Causeway Coast—. When we speak with one voice together, we are stronger, we have scale, credibility, and influence. That is why our partnerships with Letterkenny and Causeway Chambers, our councils, and our colleges and universities, our Ports on both sides of the border matter. They are imperative relationships and the engine that will turn plans into progress!

A Confident Voice

To support our promise…  we have to find our confident voice. We need to tell a new story about this place—not just to the world, but to ourselves. “Poor Derry bemoaning successes elsewhere” is a story of limits. “Promising positive Derry -” – is a story of potential. The language we use shapes the future we create. Let us choose the story that inspires, attracts talent, attracts students, attracts further investment and gives our people belief and confidence.

And confidence means more than words. It means showing up in the rooms where decisions are made.. It means ensuring that key people from this region are  present, and more importantly, influential.  We need a chorus—a positive, professional collective voice that says: this region is ready, this region matters. this region has solutions.

A New Confidence — Proof and Progress

We don’t have to imagine what success, confidence and leadership looks like—we can see it all around us…

Look at Alleycats, who just won a BAFTA. They didn’t wait for permission. They didn’t wonder if they were good enough. They simply did the work—and the world noticed.

Look at Le Foyer des Artistes, bringing global ambition to our arts scene, showing that our culture is not just local—it is international.

The North West Business Awards showed us the beating heart of our economy it was a joy to be part of that ceremony.  And there are many  examples of thriving inspirational stories like The Walled City Brewery, Oakfire Adventures, Fleming Agri Products and McColgan’s Quality Foods – these are companies that have shown resilience, adaptability and ambition.

It’s not just companies, organisations like Inner City Trust, Enterprise North West, Awaken Hub make a difference… and I want to pay tribute to the hard working people of our local Council leading the effort – collectively they make this place better…

Our Financial Services sector companies like FintrU, Alchemy and Allstate continue to astound – with their growth and achievements. The city and region is boosted by EY setting up in Ebrington Plaza and with increasing roles from firms like Clyde and Co, A+L Goodbody and KPMG its clear that interest in the city is mounting.

Tangible Progress is visible everywhere: Magee’s student numbers grew faster in one year than they have in the last decade, Ebrington Square is becoming the vibrant hub we were promised, including now the construction of the DNA museum, and our transport links, road, rail and air are slowly improving linking us to our capitals and the world.

I will not have covered it all but hope I am not alone in recognising how far we have come.

Culture

Arts and sports are the bridges that connect business to community—they inspire pride, bring people together, and remind us that economic growth must always serve the human spirit.

Sports clubs need business support and I am now lucky to have the opportunity to support the likes of North West Cricket Union which amongst its many achievements has spectacularly increased female participation over the past number of years.

And for the rest of this evening there will be a focus on the arts.. and I am delighted to have In Your Space Circus as my charity partner for the year and tonight. They are on a journey to transform the iconic Cathedral School Building on our historic walls into their Performing Arts Centre.

We have seen tonight some of their fantastic performers, they are amazing educators, showing children and adults that joy, creativity and ambition belong here.

When we support our artists, our storytellers, our dreamers, we are not just funding performances—we are shaping identity. We are telling our creative people that they matter, that their imagination is part of our shared future.

Closing

As I conclude I want to pay tribute to the Chamber Board and the Chamber team expertly lead by our CEO Anna Doherty – collectively they make a huge contribution to the city and region.

I need to thank my team at FNW Group – they have enjoyed my extensive absence this year – but they have made it count and driven our group on to new heights. Thank you.

This city and this region has much work to do, but I very much feel we all are doing something special here.

The most powerful signal of progress is not a new building or statistic. It’s when a young person chooses to stay, when a parent believes their child’s best chance is here, and when that child agrees.

Thank you and enjoy the rest of your evening