Rebecca Tavioni is the newly appointed Chamber of Commerce chief executive officer.

Prior to accepting the role last month, Tavioni was the business operations manager for Avarua Cable Limited, a recently established Cook Islands wholesale telecommunications provider.

Before she moved to the Cook Islands in 2018, Tavioni worked for Southern Health Cross Society, the largest private health insurer in New Zealand, where she managed business improvement.  

Tavioni said she had been “picky” about where she worked after arriving in the Cook Islands.

“I spent a period of time not working here because I was not looking for employment for the sake of being employed,” she said.

“I was looking for an environment that held the same career value that I hold.

“An environment that offers a pragmatic approach, an environment that is healthy, one in which I feel comfortable in as a leader to be a part of, and that took a while to find.”

Tavioni said the Chamber of Commerce is looking to change the way it is viewed by the nation.

“I believe that the Chamber had previously been viewed as self-serving and that it wasn't necessarily for Cook Islanders.

“That is 100 per cent not what it is today but saying it isn't enough, you have to do it in the action that you undertake in this office.”

The chief position was first advertised in mid-2021.

Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce board of directors Phillip Henderson said it was important to get the right person in.

Tavioni said: “The way I work as a leader and a manager, I will own 100 per cent what is given to me, I will own the consequences of it and I will share the success.

“I formally accepted the role because I am confident the board has ambition to deliver on the messaging that they've given me.

“I have confidence the board will enable me to do the role, to give me the full scope of authority to move this office in the direction it should go.”

The Chamber has recently appointed a new board of directors and updated its constitution.

It has also moved from a small back office with one employee to its own building with a fully operational team.

Prior to Tavioni, Eve Hayden was the interim chief executive.

“The Chamber is the intermediary body between the Cook Islands government and the private sector, delivering a strategic, ambitious vision that successfully enables te iti tangata and all businesses to thrive within our country is key,” Tavioni said.