Insights from our President, Lee Madden, March 2026

Collaboration is Jersey's competitive advantage

As President of the Jersey Chamber of Commerce, I have seen first‑hand the extraordinary capability, resilience, and ambition that drives our island’s business community. But over the past year, one insight has become clearer than ever: our greatest competitive advantage is collaboration.

Across every sector finance, construction, retail, hospitality, digital, freight, and professional services business leaders are navigating complex pressures. From rising costs to skills shortages, global uncertainty to local infrastructure challenges, Jersey’s economy moves within a world that is becoming less predictable by the month.Jersey moves forward when government and industry move forward together.

Yet we are demonstrating that when government and industry come together early, openly, and constructively, Jersey doesn’t just withstand change, it leads through it.

We’ve witnessed encouraging signs, targeted interventions have helped unlock stalled capital projects. Government has shown a renewed willingness to listen, engage, and adapt, conversations around regulation have matured, with a clearer understanding of the difference between essential “big R” regulations and the flexible, enabling “small r” refinements that help business thrive.Collaboration is no longer optional; it is a strategic necessity.

But as we face the realities of an ageing population, workforce pressures, housing shortages, and global economic volatility, we must go further and faster. These challenges are too significant for any one part of our island to solve alone.

Business needs clarity, consistency, and confidence.Government needs data, insight, and the lived experience of the industries delivering Jersey’s economic output.Islanders need decisions that are timely, informed, and aligned with long‑term prosperity.

My messaging is clear.

To government:
Bring industry into the room at the very beginning. Use the expertise that sits across our sectors and empower arm’s‑length organisations to deliver without unnecessary delay.

To business:

Be a member of Chamber and be heard. Engage in consultations, share data, and encourage your teams to register and vote, a stronger democracy means a stronger economy.

To all of us:
Commit to evidence‑based decision‑making because when facts lead, confidence follows.When we align purpose with action, Jersey becomes unstoppable.

Jersey has extraordinary opportunities ahead, and an extraordinary community ready to make them real.

Together, let’s seize this moment and lets get things done.