The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce announced today its new Board Chair and committee chairs for 2018. Janis MacKenzie, President of MacKenzie Communications is the 2018 Chair of the Board, and John Gingrich, Managing Director at Accenture is the 2018 Vice Chair.
“We need a strong Chamber for a strong and resilient City,” said MacKenzie. “The Chamber has three areas of focus – business development, economic development and advocacy. But at the core, we are focused on improving the quality of life for everyone in our City, by creating and sustaining a strong and healthy business climate.”
“Janis and John bring great energy and diverse experiences in the San Francisco business community that will help the Chamber continue to tackle the most important issues to our members, while remaining fresh and relevant,” said Tallia Hart, President & CEO for the SF Chamber.
The SF Chamber will continue to lead initiatives to further our mission of attracting, developing and retaining business in San Francisco. “Whether it’s helping the City implement reasonable cannabis regulations, working to reduce tax measures headed for the June ballot, or collaborating with SFMTA on traffic congestion, we are at the table, advocating for our members,” said MacKenzie.
The Chamber thanks outgoing Chair of the Board Mario Alioto, Executive Vice President of Business Operations for the San Francisco Giants, for his two years of service. “Mario led the Board through a transformative time for the organization, including a search for new leadership for the organization,” said Hart. “We look forward to having him as a continued member of the board, and are excited to have Janis step into this new role.”
The Chamber also welcomes the following committee chairs for 2018:
Chair, Board Development & Diversity / Nominating Committee: Melinda Yee Franklin, Managing Director, Corporate and Government Affairs, Western Region, United Airlines
Chair, Finance: Steve Heitel, President & CEO Presidio Bank
General Counsel: John Cu, Partner, Hanson Bridgett
Chair, Membership/Investor Relations: John Gumas, President, Gumas
Chair, Public Policy: Mark Klein, SVP, Corporate Communications, Public Affairs & Marketing, Dignity Health
Chair, Business Development / CED / Foundation: Taylor Safford, CEO, Pier 39
Chair, Communications & Marketing: Scott Dunlap, Managing Principal, Gensler
Executive Committee At-large: Claudio Cipollina, SVP, Market Executive Commercial Banking, Bank of America, Travis Kiyota, Vice President, California External Affairs, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, Steve Mayer, Founder & Managing Partner, SD Mayer & Associates and Sandra Edwards, Partner, Farella Braun + Martel LLP
The San Francisco Chamber of Commerce is the largest and most influential business membership organization in San Francisco. The Chamber serves more than 2,500 member businesses and over 200,000 employees from companies of every size and industry in San Francisco and across the Bay Area. Acting on our mission to attract, support, and grow business through advocacy, economic development, and business development in San Francisco, the Chamber delivers more than 250 programs and events each year and advocates for a prosperous economy and high quality of life for everyone who lives, works and visits the City.