Property whiz Cris Valdes-Dapena was appointed president of the Chamber of Commerce last week.

Over the weekend, she spoke to The Royal Gazette about her decision to accept the unpaid role, strategies to make the Chamber more than just a "talking shop'' and why the body deserves to have a louder voice in Government's ear.

Ms Dapena's rise through the ranks has been swift. Twice fate has resulted in her climbing an extra rung of the ladder at the Chamber -- which represents more than 750 companies -- more quickly than even she had expected.

Five years ago she was elected deputy chairman of the real estate division.

Just a short time later she took the reigns as chairman from Wayne Jackson who stepped aside for health reasons.

And this year she became president after Michael Smith departed from the role only one year into what is usually a two-year tenure.

Ms Dapena holds a MBA from the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania and worked in insurance and as a consultant before joining Darling & Dapena Real Estate as a partner in December, 1990.

Today, at 48, she is president of the Property Group.

She was approached in February about taking over as President after a change in Mr. Smith's career meant he believed he could no longer devote the time he would like to the Chamber, she said.

"The first thing I contemplated was that I knew it was a very time-consuming role so I asked myself whether there was something about the job so compelling that I could justify spending so much time away from my business.

"And the second thing I asked myself was if there indeed was something so compelling about this role, then was I there person to take it on?'' "The answer to the first question was immediately and obviously yes.

"It was the reluctance of many others to see the importance of the Chamber in Bermuda which gave me the answer to the second question and I knew I was the right person for this job.'' But rather than being the "boss of the Chamber'' she aims to be the "person at the centre who stirs things up, brings people together and tries to express the feelings of the whole group''.

For her, the Chamber is "the nexus, the centre of the web, the bringing together of all the facets of the economy''.

"It's the only organisation on the Island in which minds from every sector come together to look at the issues.

"In Bermuda there isn't any sector which can be completely divorced from the others parts of the economy. Bermuda is a microcosm of other economies because every sector is integrally tied to every other.

"So any time the Government needs to talk to a body about interests of any sector, the Chamber is the obvious choice because we can sit down at the table with representatives of every sector to look at the issue and its ramifications on all sectors.'' Ms Dapena is still trying to extricate herself from acting as chairman of the Chamber's real estate division. Originally it was a dissatisfaction with that branch which lured her through the Chamber's door.

"I was concerned the real estate industry needed to have a stronger self-governing kind of influence, a stronger industry body, so I joined the executive committee five years ago when it was in a state of disarray.

"Constantly we have issues that can't be isolated to a single sector bubbling up to the board to be looked at from the diverse view points of different sectors at the same time to find what's best for Bermuda.'' But she concedes challenges lie ahead.

"I personally think we could represent small, local and black-owned businesses better, and we could improve the number of those businesses joining the Chamber.

"People bandy around the figure that 80 percent of Bermuda's business have ten or fewer employees, and if that's true, then on their own those businesses probably tend to have very little influence.'' But if they joined the Chamber it would be a "win-win situation'' -- they would have a louder voice and the Chamber would more accurately reflect a full cross-section of businesses.'' Ms Dapena expects to spend 20 percent of her working time on Chamber matters during "not-particularly busy weeks at the Chamber'', a proportion that would increase to the bulk of her hours at busier times.

Valdes-Dapena settles into role at Bermuda Chamber of Commerce And she hopes to stamp the job with her own style.

"Micky was extremely capable but individuals are different, so my approach to this job on that basis will be distinct from his. It's that simple.'' Ms Dapena aims to "heighten the general recognition within the business community and the community at large'' of the Chamber's ability to represent all of the Island's businesses. And to do that, she wants the board to concentrate its focus to a "few carefully chosen issues on which we can really be effective.'' "It's a strategy I've thought about quite a bit. The highest possible level we can provide to our members is to be effective on the issues we focus on and not just to be a talking shop but to actually make a difference.'' She said it was vital to her plan to increase the body's voice to the Government which she believes should be loud and clear since the Chamber pulls together every sector. The body's two biggest immediate challenges are the UK White Paper and the many issues which spin from it, as well as the Island's tourism decline. "The first is a challenge to be proactive, increasingly involved members of the global financial community, to ride the wave of increasing financial regulation to success rather than get swamped by it,'' she said. PHOTO Taking over: Chris Valdes-Dapena takes over the helm at the Bermuda Chamber of Commerce