The Pleasanton Chamber of Commerce Board of Administrators has chosen James Cooper, the present chief of the Vallejo chamber, to function its subsequent president and CEO.
A former actual property skilled and U.S. Air Pressure veteran who additionally has profession expertise with the Novato, American Canyon and Benicia chambers of commerce, Cooper stated he’s “honored” to have the chance to maneuver to the Pleasanton chamber and lead its efforts “with serving to native companies develop.”
“My focus is for the chamber to be related to its members and the neighborhood. This solely occurs once we perceive their considerations and collaborate on the options. For our voice to be heard, we should first be prepared to hear,” Cooper stated in an announcement launched by the chamber on Thursday.
“The best pleasure I get from my position as chamber president is after I hear from a member that the chamber made a distinction for them,” he added. “We’re a useful resource to be tapped, wealthy with info and connections benefiting companies. Our job is to ensure members know we will help, and the way.”
Cooper, whose first day on the job in Pleasanton shall be June 1, rose to the highest of the chamber board’s search course of over the earlier two months — undertaken after President/CEO Steve Van Dorn introduced his upcoming retirement in late February after almost 4 years on the helm.
“We’re assured that James will signify our enterprise neighborhood with compassion and professionalism. His experiences not solely make him well-positioned to guide our chamber, but in addition complement the financial initiatives our metropolis has been specializing in,” stated Chamber Board Chair Kim Damiani of Summit Monetary Group.
“James has a formidable skilled background, and we’re assured his strategy will assist the chamber fulfill its imaginative and prescient and mission through the years to return,” Damiani added.
Cooper entered chamber of commerce administration later in his skilled life, becoming a member of the Novato Chamber of Commerce as its membership supervisor in early 2011. The subsequent yr, he was employed as president and CEO of the American Canyon Chamber of Commerce, which he led for almost 4 years.
He made the transfer one metropolis south down Freeway 29 to the Vallejo Chamber of Commerce to take over as its president and CEO in late 2016. Throughout a part of that point within the pandemic, Cooper concurrently assisted the Benicia Chamber of Commerce as interim government director offering executive-level assist throughout a time when the Benicia chamber had no employees.
Earlier in his working life, Cooper served within the U.S. Air Pressure in safety coverage and as a Ok-9 handler, and he later ran a canine coaching academy. He spent almost 15 years in the true property business as a company advertising director, common supervisor and actual property salesperson. He was additionally a enterprise providers consultant for the Workforce Funding Board of Solano County earlier than working on the Novato chamber.
Cooper is a graduate of the Western Affiliation of Chamber Executives and holds a Grasp of Enterprise Administration with a worldwide administration emphasis and an undergraduate diploma in enterprise administration.
A lifelong Californian, Cooper was born in Southern California however raised within the Bay Space. He’s married with two daughters, one in school and the opposite a senior in highschool. He and his spouse personal a small bed-and-breakfast on an island off the coast of Madagascar, his spouse’s house nation.
Cooper cited his private passions outdoors of the workplace as together with music, films, sports activities, touring, and spending time along with his household.
