BELFAST'S rulers 'must think differently' if it is to thrive and prosper in these current straitened times, the city's new Chamber of Trade and Commerce president believes.
And Michelle Greeves, in her inaugural address, quoted Einstein when she said: "We cannot expect to be doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.
Ms Greeves, centre manager at Victoria Square, took the presidential chain of office from Gordon McElroy at the Chamber's annual meeting in the Europa Hotel.
She is only the fourth female president of Belfast Chamber of Trade & Commerce (www.belfastctc.com) since it was formed in 1912 as the voice of the city's business community.
Michelle called on her Chamber Executive Council members and those in elected power to "start thinking about how we might approach things differently in Belfast".
She said that while Brexit has changed the course of history, it has one huge silver lining for Northern Ireland in that it has led to an influx of visitors from the Republic, who have brought so much business to retail and hospitality in the city.
Outgoing president Gordon McElroy's year in the role had begun with the launch of the Chamber’s Belfast Manifesto, a blue print for helping make the city great over the next decade.
"When the document was launched in September, our message fell on fertile ground, but the collapse of the Executive brought that to an end," he said.
"This breakdown was bad for business, and I urge those in power to get back now to the business of running the country."
The new president will be supported by an Executive Council comprising: Rajesh Rana (senior vice-president), Christopher McCausland (junior vice-president), Michael Stewart (junior vice-president), Les Hume (treasurer), John Lunn (secretary) and Gordon McElroy (immediate past-president).
These senior roles will be joined by Council members Alana Coyle, Stephen Mewah, Liam Creagh, Anthony Best, Peter Legge and Jo Bell.
