MANY Canberrans (and the rest of the country) associate the ACT with public servants and the government, but these days two-thirds of jobs in the territory are in the private sector, says Canberra Business Chamber’s new CEO Dr Michael Schaper.

“We’ve got around 27,000 private-sector businesses in the ACT,” he says.

Michael, 54, of Barton, replaced CEO Robyn Hendry earlier this year after she finished her four-year term in September, and he’s using his new role to highlight how prominent the private sector is in the ACT.

“The decisions we make that affect the business community, actually affect us all,” he says.

Michael came to the Canberra Business Chamber after working as the deputy chairman of the ACCC for about 10 years. Before that he was the small business commissioner for the ACT between 2004 to 2006 and has  also worked as a professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Newcastle.

“Before my time in academia I spent some time running a community, small-business enterprise centre [in Perth], helping people start, run or grow small businesses,” he says.

“I was almost like a GP for small businesses. The thing you realise when working with businesses is it’s not just about money but their livelihoods, their families, their hopes and dreams.

“Especially small businesses. It’s as much a personal thing as it is a business.

“It’s not just about money, but the people who own and operate these businesses.

“Sometimes when you talk about issues that affect businesses, you’re actually talking about issues that affect people.”

One of the reasons Michael took on the position as CEO is because he wants to help unite the business community, and he’s hoping to form connections between the government, the private sector and the universities in Canberra.

“Historically, in Australia, we haven’t done a good job joining up the links between universities, governments and the private sector,” he says.

“A place like Canberra needs it because we’re an innovation economy. We have the environment to flourish. We don’t have mining or agriculture, we have people, so we need these all to be joined up.”

Even though there’s a lot of industry specific organisations in Canberra, Michael believes the Canberra Business Chamber will always be needed.

“You really need someone who speaks for the whole business community,” he says.

“The Canberra Business Chamber is a voice for all businesses, regardless of what industry they’re in.”

But, as a member-based organisation, he says it’s the members that pay the subscriptions to fund the work.

“It’s hard because most businesses in Canberra are small businesses so they don’t have a lot of loose cash around,” he says.

“It’s the big companies in the town who have historically stepped in to make sure we can do this job. They do a really good job in supporting the chamber.

As the voice of business for Canberra and the region, Michael says it’s important that the chamber continues to support and advocate for business.

“We need to ensure the sector continues to prosper and is ready to meet the rapidly changing global environment,” he says.

“We all have a role to play in promoting and advocating for Canberra and the region.

“A key component will be continuing to understand the needs of business and of our members, to assist their continued growth, and to advocate for Canberra as a great place to do business.”