Rachel Chambers: Cultivating a legacy
Rachel Chambers
CEO
Queensland Fruit and Vegetable Growers (QFVG)
Spend an hour with Rachel Chambers and you’ll hear the phrase “problem-solver” fairly often. Whether as a recurring thought in your own head as you listen; or spoken out loud by the woman herself when asked to articulate what motivates her decisions, actions and behaviours.
And while problem-solving is clearly a defining trait of the Queensland Fruit and Vegetable Growers (QFVG) CEO, to stop there would be to tell only half of the Rachel Chambers story.
In her hands, problems find the type of solutions that not only fix things, but they also leave a legacy.
Legacies are greatest when they are championed by a true believer and when they deliver lasting impact on others. And the groups of others – let’s call them communities – who have benefited from legacies that Rachel has either catalysed or contributed to are as diverse as the tangents in her career path.
Mayor. Teacher. Nursing student. Economic development officer. Small business owner. Board member. QFVG CEO since June 2022.
Growing up in Logan City as a self-confessed latch-key kid of two parents working full-time, Rachel was shaped by that uniquely Gen-X nature-nurture combo to be resourceful, independent, thorough, and direct. Someone you suspect is familiar with the saying ‘doing a job right the first time gets the job done’.
Like many girls her age, Rachel was steered towards fairly limited career options by the high school guidance counsellor: nursing or teaching. At around the same time she had received a nurse’s fob watch for her 16th birthday from her great aunt, somewhat of a destiny moment for her given her aunt had passed away years prior and had no knowledge of her intending career choice.
In typical Rachel Chambers style, she took on board the advice and accepted fate, but kicked in a healthy dose of spirit and determination.
“When I was given that fob, I thought well, there must be something in me that says nursing,” Rachel says. “I did love people and science, so it was a natural fit but straight away I said that I wanted to be a director of nursing at a major Brisbane hospital. I would love to go back now and ask my young self why I felt the need to lead at such a young age.
“Fast forward 13 years and life took me down a different path. I wasn’t practicing nursing, instead I had owned small businesses, I was in my second marriage with a second round of children. I was restless, and one day I decided I should teach’.
“So, the two professions I always said I would never do as a woman, I ended up doing. Call me crazy but that guidance councillor may have known what they were doing all those years ago.”
Destructive flooding caused by Cyclone Oswald in January 2013 triggered another pivotal direction-change in Rachel’s life.
Decisively driving towards disaster when most would run the other way, she’s matter of fact about why.
“It was my husband’s home town (Gayndah) and I knew I could help. I was listening to the radio and from the calls coming in I could understand that one of the issues was that trucks had nowhere to park when bringing supplies into town. It sounded like a logistical issue.
“As a CEO, you’ve got to be able to answer two questions: why does your association exist and what would happen if it didn’t? If you can keep answering those questions, you will maintain relevance and you will understand your value proposition.”
“So, I drove into town, I went straight to a real estate agency and I rented an industrial shed (after negotiating a very good deal). I pulled all the trucks off the road and parked them all in the shed. We worked out what they had on board and then worked with emergency and community services to match need. We ended up calling the shed the “Just Say Yes Centre” and for three months, seven days a week we ran with the support of up to 50 volunteers a day. It offered help to flood-affected families in the form of emergency supplies and care packs as well as being a community hub for health services, disaster management and volunteer co-ordination.
“It was just a problem-solution moment.”
Yep, another one.
An enquiring mind, Rachel says her favourite question is “why?” as the single word if asked repeatedly helps get to the source of an issue. “I’m not a big fan on band-aid solutions – I much prefer to rip that band-aid off and go for the source. If you keep asking why – you will get to the root cause eventually. Only then will you have the ability to make long lasting change.”
So how she make the leap into politics? Well she sort of fell. “I never once aspired to become any sort of politician, in fact I made it a habit not to invest my time in any political speak. This was until the flooding event where I felt decisions were being made without adequate knowledge, data, evidence and engagement. I have this rule about putting your life where your voice is – meaning you shouldn’t whinge about something unless you are willing to be part of the solution. This fell into that category. I was very critical of the council, so decided I must be in the council. Being elected as Mayor in 2016 and elected unopposed in 2021 her favourite part of the Mayor’s job was advocating on the community’s behalf.
Which ironically is her favourite part of her current role as CEO of Queensland’s peak industry body for fruit, vegetable and nut growers albeit for a slightly different community - this time a community of growers and all those who love to eat fresh produce.
She goes on to explain how she views her role as a CEO in leading an organisation.
“I asked one of my previous staff members for advice before I took this job and they said that the best CEO they ever had gave everyone permission to fail, and had their back if they did,” she said.
“I have taken that on board, and I tell my staff that stuff ups are okay. I don’t view those things as failures. The only failures are those times we haven’t been brave enough to try something new or different or if we didn’t learn from experience.”
Like many industry associations, QFVG is on a never-ending quest to position itself as a trusted voice for unity and relevance.
“As a CEO of a NFP, you’ve got to be able to answer two questions: why does your association exist? What would happen if it didn’t?
“And then even more importantly, if you asked your members or prospective members the exact same questions – would your answers align?
“QFVG, provides our members a loud, strong, and brave voice of horticulture in Queensland. We work for the entire supply chain through the lens of a grower. We exist to ensure they exist for generations to come.”