SME association appoints CEO

SMEAA founder and current executive chairman Matthew Johnston has resigned from the position, and Succession Plus CEO Craig West will take over as incoming chairman.

Succession Plus is an exit planning and strategic advisory business for SMEs including financial services businesses.

“The Australian SME community should be very grateful that people like Matt had the vision, commitment and energy to establish an organisation to represent the vast number of SMEs throughout the country,” Mr West said.

“I'm extremely grateful that Matt has been able to accept my invitation to stay on as a board member – I hope to continue to rely on Matt for support and guidance, as he has done an excellent job building the organisation into a strong and viable association of business owners to represent the needs of the SME community to government, large businesses and the Australian public.”

Mr West said the association will be making several more appointments to its board of directors in the coming weeks expects to announce its CEO by the end of the month.

He said the board will be looking for “a diverse and dynamic blend of business skills, background and expertise at the helm to lead the Association.”

“As the peak body dedicated to being the leading voice of Australia’s SME business owners with over 18,500 members, SMEAA is committed to continuing its vital role representing Australia’s SMEs as this sector is the most important driver of this nation’s long term economic viability and prosperity,” Mr West said