That's the opinion of newly elected chamber president Michael Mowle.

A chamber member for some two decades, Mr Mowle replaced Haydn Oriti who stepped away from the role after a lengthy tenure.

Mr Mowle said he was looking forward to leading the business group, despite the opportunity coming 12 months earlier than expected.

"I had planned to step into the vice president's role this year and then work with Haydn for the next term," Mr Mowle said.

"But Haydn decided to leave earlier than planned. However, I am happy to be in this role, albeit a bit earlier than planned."

The chamber boss says infrastructure growth, jobs creation and member support are key planks the chamber will pursue in the coming year.

Mr Mowle also praised the good mix of new and experienced members elected to the chamber board.

He described Port Macquarie as a 'cosmopolitan place' and 'in a good space' for the future.

He said the chamber's three key roles were, to be an advocate for business, to provide a networking platform for members and to act as a conduit between members and local and state government.

We will represent, and put forward, chamber's interests to those bodies, he said.

"As a designated regional city, the chamber would also help facilitate the necessary infrastructure and growth through regular meetings while growing our employment base.

"Certainly we have the population growth but we also need jobs growth alongside that.

"As a chamber, we will also aim to better connect with our members and to get in tune with what they need so we can best represent them and their interests."

Other aspects chamber would follow include getting involved in the discussion and process for infrastructure growth and the growth needs (such as roads) for Port Macquarie.

He said chamber would also champion for a fair share of available government funding and pursuing across-the-board industry growth.

Mr Mowle also pointed to chamber and its members being more than just business-centric with strong support for many community activities including the recent Christmas parade.

He said that kind of involvement benefits retailers and the community.

"Personally, I think Port Macquarie is in a great spot, we are a regional city, we have experienced some wonderful successes including Charles Sturt University, the Glasshouse, progress at the hospital the works on the Town Green and Town Square.

"We are a cosmopolitan place now. There are plenty of things happening and this is an exciting time for this area."