Mountain View Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Oscar Garcia announced last week that he will depart the business group later this year.
The 46-year-old Garcia first took leadership at the Chamber of Commerce in 2009, coming in at a difficult time when the nonprofit was struggling amid the economic recession. In his first year, Garcia said the group was $121,000 in the red, and it was his job to turn around that budget picture.
“The following year, we were in the black $828,” he recalled. “We had to really pinch pennies but it was a huge accomplishment to do that when the economy was so horrible.”
Garcia is giving the Chamber a lot of lead time before he leaves his position, which won’t happen until September. He has no specified plans for what he will do, but he said he was interested in returning to the private sector.
“I feel good about leaving the Chamber in a strong position.” he said. “I feel that it’s time to look at other challenges.”
Garcia’s service during his years in the position earned high praise from his colleagues at the Chamber. Cynthia Grieves, the nonprofit’s board chairwoman, described Garcia as a thoughtful leader who spearheaded the current stability of the organization.
“He’s ready now for something new,” Grieves said. “He didn’t want to be surreptitious in his search, so he gave us a thoughtful and generous heads-up on this.”
The six months of advance notice before Garcia leaves his post wasn’t incidental, Grieves explained. That timing was chosen so that Garcia could still spearhead one final Art & Wine Festival in September. The annual street fair is a major fundraiser for the Chamber.
E-mail mnoack@mv-voice.com
