A rigorous selection and testing process has whittled down an initial group of 300 applicants for the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce president/CEO position to five semi-finalists.

Although the names of the semi-finalists will not be released, they are a diverse group with three women, two men, one local, two others from California and two from out of state.

“Chamber volunteers and members have a very clear vision of the kind of person we want in the role of president/CEO,” said Dave Juhnke, chair of the Selection Committee. “We’re looking for someone who has demonstrated leadership experience within a Chamber of Commerce or similar business-oriented membership organization, has a proven ability to grow a nonprofit organization, and has established an understanding of local and state political processes, with a proven effectiveness in lobbying and taking political action.”

A national call for applications went out in early March, and the Chamber received about 300 applications by the April 1 deadline. The CEO Search/Selection Committee, comprised of past chairs of the Chamber’s Board of Directors, has met weekly to review the applications and discuss the candidates. The initial group of 300 was reduced to 100, then down to 30. The “survivors” were then given a writing assignment to complete, and telephone interviews were conducted.  The group was then reduced to nine, who were interviewed via Skype. The group of finalists has been given additional assignments to complete, and will be brought to San Luis Obispo to be interviewed separately by the committee, Board of Directors and staff in early May.

“When we started this process, there wasn’t a set of procedures in place to make finding the new president/CEO an easy task,” said Michael Gunther, chair of the Chamber Board of Directors. “We’ve had to strategize and organize in a very short period of time. Luckily, the Selection Committee has found its stride and developed the perfect structure to make everything run as smoothly as possible, while challenging the applicants so we can find the best person for the job.”

David Garth announced his plans to retire early this year. During Garth’s tenure, the Chamber has grown from an organization with 250 members and two employees to one of more than 1,400 members and 15 employees. The organization's budget grew from $30,000 per year to $1.5 million per year – all in a town of less than 50,000 people.

By May 19, the Chamber Board of Directors is expected to select the new president/CEO, and the official announcement will be made shortly thereafter.

Garth’s retirement will be effective July 1 and the new president and CEO is expected to begin his or her term on July 5.