Liam Kavanagh, the managing director of The Irish Times Ltd, will take over as president of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce at the body's agm today.

Mr Kavanagh, who became managing director of The Irish Times in 2010, will be presented with the chain of office by outgoing president and Greencore chief executive Patrick Coveney.

Martin Murphy, managing director of HP Ireland, will be confirmed as vice-president at the agm.

Ahead of the agm, Mr Kavanagh identified the chamber's "Activating Dublin" initiative as a key focus during his term as president. The initiative aims to generate sustainable growth and employment in the Dublin region. One of its first projects will be "Getting Dublin Businesses Online", which will see 20 companies being helped to make the step into selling on the web.

Selected businesses will get support from international internet service firms. "Our goal is to get 40 per cent of Dublin SMEs selling online by the end of 2013," Mr Kavanagh said.