WILLEMSTAD – Curaçao Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Raoul Behr has been elected Vice President for the Caribbean within the newly created Council of Chambers of Commerce of the Americas (CCCAM), giving Curaçao a leadership position in the organization from its inception.
Behr will occupy one of 11 positions on the CCCAM Board and will represent the Caribbean alongside Lucille Houellwmont of the Chamber of Commerce and Production of Santo Domingo.
The appointment follows Curaçao’s involvement in the preparatory process that led to the creation of the hemispheric organization. The Curaçao Chamber is also one of the Council’s 36 founding Chambers, representing more than 16 countries.
The Board has been structured around five regions, with two vice presidents representing each.
For North America, the positions went to Federico Batlle of the Salvadoran Chamber of Commerce in Miami and Cameron Mackenzie of the Puerto Rico Chamber of Commerce.
The Caribbean will be represented by Behr and Houellwmont, while the Andean region will be represented by Mónica Heller of the Quito Chamber of Commerce and Eduardo Olivo of CNC Bolivia.
Miguel Carrizosa of the Colombian-Paraguayan Chamber of Commerce and Padarath Jayant of the Suriname Chamber of Commerce and Industry were selected for the Southern Cone.
Central America will be represented by Karim Qubain of the Chamber of Commerce and Industries of Cortés and Leticia Escobar of the Chamber of Commerce of El Salvador.
The Council itself will be headed by Ovidio Claros Polanco, Executive President of the Bogotá Chamber of Commerce, who was unanimously elected president during the first General Assembly in Bogotá.
For Curaçao, Behr’s position provides the island with an opportunity to contribute directly to discussions about business development and economic cooperation across the Americas while also representing Caribbean interests within the organization.
The Council’s 2026–2027 agenda includes trade missions, business matchmaking, market intelligence, development of regional value chains and a Business Climate Barometer.
The Curaçao Chamber said its position as both a founding member and part of the Caribbean leadership should help it identify opportunities within the network that can be translated into practical benefits for Curaçao entrepreneurs.
The broader objective will be to connect the island’s private sector more closely with businesses and Chambers throughout the Caribbean, Latin America, North America and other markets in the hemisphere.