COVER STORY
Meet Faten Alshazly Chair of the 2022-2023 Halifax Chamber Board of Directors By Emily Bednarz and Emma Menchefski
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ealthcare, academia, government, policy, consulting, marketing. Faten Alshazly may have worked in a variety of industries over the course of her career, but entrepreneurship was always in her blood. “My foray into entrepreneurship was almost pre-destined by the DNA I inherited from my father,” she says. This innate drive led Alshazly to co-create WeUsThem, a full-service advertising agency based in downtown Halifax. She serves as the firm’s Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer. Alshazly’s entrepreneurial spirit makes her a perfect fit to lead the Halifax Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. The Chamber team was delighted to welcome her as Chair at our Annual General Meeting on April 21, 2022. “Faten will be a great asset to the Chamber and our members,” says Chamber President and CEO Patrick Sullivan. “She has extensive experience in the local business community, a passion for diversity and inclusion, and enthusiasm for exporting Halifax’s wealth of products and services to an international stage.” Alshazly succeeds Past-Chair Mark Sidebottom, Chief Operating Officer
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IMAGE CREDIT: MING PHOTOGRAPHY
“We are coming out of the darkest period for business in recent history. I hope to bring us back to not just a sense of recovery, but to a place of growth. We are poised with great entrepreneurs, innovators, and service providers that can get Halifax where it’s destined to be.” — Faten Alshazly Chair, 2022-2023 Halifax Chamber Board of Directors and Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer, WeUsThem
of Nova Scotia Power. “It has been a pleasure to work with Faten in supporting Chamber members and growing Halifax these last few years,” says Sidebottom. “The Chamber is in very good hands as Faten assumes the Chair role. I wish her the best of luck and look forward to seeing what she has in store for our members.”
Halifax is where the heart is Alshazly has been a Haligonian since her university days, when her family immigrated from the United States. Halifax represented a safe and friendly environment where she and her siblings JUNE 2022
could grow and pursue their “adventures in entrepreneurship,” Alshazly says. Maintaining the city’s welcoming atmosphere is high on Alshazly’s list of priorities. “To me, Halifax has always been a small city with a big city feel,” she says. “I want to continue this vision for Halifax and our broader business community. I envision a city that thrives, adding new businesses each day.” Alshazly notes that there are more businesses than ever open in Halifax right now — but it’s important that the businesses continue to support one another. “We have entrepreneurs that are willing to help out and pitch in for their
