Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Still Has No CEO
The Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce has delayed hiring a chief executive officer since former CEO Cici Rojas left us in April. Please read my interview with Sheryl Jean of the Dallas Morning News below:
Dallas Hispanic chamber delays hiring a new CEO
10:40 PM CDT on Wednesday, September 23, 2009
By SHERYL JEAN / The Dallas Morning News
The Greater Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce took key steps Wednesday to address its five months of leadership turmoil, but the nonprofit business group probably will remain without a chief executive into early next year.
The chamber's board of directors voted unanimously to delay its search for a new CEO to study how other groups have handled similar situations.
The group has been embroiled in a power struggle since CEO Cici Rojas left in April to become executive director of the Kansas Republican Party and more than a third of the 16-member board resigned in May. The 70-year-old chamber has more than 1,700 members.
On May 6, before the board could interview finalists to replace Rojas, a group of community activists protested that the selection process was "tainted." The board then halted the hiring process. Within days, six board members, including the chairman and chairman-elect, resigned.
Soon after, the board made three interim appointments and named Rick Ortiz chairman.
Treasurer Alissa Salas told the board Wednesday that she expects the chamber to post a $54,000 loss this year.
One reason, she said, is a 47 percent decline in small-business memberships for the 12 months ended in August as owners focus on surviving the recession.
The board voted Wednesday to create an exploratory committee to research how other groups, such as the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, have hired CEOs during difficult times, Ortiz said.
"Houston won the Large Chamber of the Year, didn't they?" said board member Jim Rodriguez. "Remember, before they hired [CEO] Laura Murillo, they had problems similar to ours ˆ and bigger. We should take from their best practices."
Since Murillo was hired in 2007, the Houston Hispanic chamber's membership and corporate sponsorships have increased significantly.
On Wednesday, the Dallas group's board also appointed seven new directors for 2010-11 and three officers. Last month, it had received 20 nominations.
The new board members are: Fernando Andrade, CEO of GSR Andrade Architects; Irvin Ashford, a vice president at Comerica Bank; lawyer Cynthia Figueroa; Aaron Liverpool, CEO of Entrust One Facility Services Inc.; Maria Mendez, regional director of community relations for Aetna; Martha Metzger, owner of Metzger Awards & Promotional Products; and Claudia Mirza, CEO of Akorbi Language Consulting.
The board reappointed Ortiz as chairman and Angel L. Reyes III as vice chairman and appointed Salas secretary.
Yet to be filled are the board position representing past chairmen and the posts of vice chairman and treasurer. The chamber will have a 17-person board next year.
Two of the new board members, Andrade and Liverpool, have been chamber members for years and said they wanted to take on larger roles. Both said they hope to help the chamber through a difficult time and help it promote businesses.
"The chamber has gone through its share of turmoil recently," Liverpool said. "At some point, we have to get past all this and move in the right direction. My point is to get in there and offer a breath of fresh air. Someone like me who's kind of an outsider and not beholden to anyone, my job is to advance the role of the chamber and not my personal agenda."
©2009 Angel Reyes
www.ReyesLaw.com
Subscribe to this feed