Kameli Batiweti, the chief executive officer for Fiji Commerce and Employers Federation (FCEF), has resigned.

Mr Batiweti joined FCEF in 2019, when he stepped in to fill the big shoes of his predecessor, Nezbitt Hazelman.

FCEF’s history is steeped in male-dominant leaders.

Mr Batiweti is in Geneva with a Fijian delegation for the 111th session of the International Labour which ends this week.

His departure from FCEF is a major loss for the organisation.

Under his leadership, a host of productive changes were brought about, including his open-door policy with the media, and his professional knack for diplomacy.

Most recently, FCEF celebrated the change of its logo.

SunBiz wrote to Mr Batiweti yesterday.

Across the industry, appreciation grew for Eseta Nadakuitavuki – who was FCEF vice president, and chairperson for Top Executive conference (TOPEX), and a manager at Westpac – as a most likely succession for the CEO’s job, SunBiz was told.

But last month, Ms Nadakuitavuki took up a civil service appointment as permanent secretary for the Ministry of Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation.

The exit of the dynamic duo will leave a vacuum at FCEF.

A farewell cocktail party in their honour will be hosted at Grand Pacific Hotel on June 22.

Story by: frederica.elbourne@fijisun.com.fj