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Tampa Chamber Chief Takes New Post

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By MICHAEL SASSO

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 20, 2008

TAMPA Kim Scheeler, the longtime leader of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, is leaving that post in August to lead the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce in Virginia.

Scheeler, 53, said he is making the move because it's an opportunity to lead an organization with more than double the budget of the Tampa chamber and a broader geographic scope. Where the Tampa chamber promotes business and economic development in Hillsborough County, the Richmond chamber is more of a regional organization comprising several counties, he said.

He wouldn't reveal his future salary, but said that given the additional responsibilities, "it stands to reason that there's additional compensation."

Scheeler will serve his final day as president and chief executive officer of the Tampa chamber on Aug. 15, and he will start in the same roles in Richmond on Aug. 25.

John Ramil, a former chairman of the chamber and the president and chief operating officer of TECO Energy, credited Scheeler with turning around the chamber's finances and bringing business savvy to the organization. Ramil said he suspected something was under way a few weeks ago, when a headhunter called him asking him about Scheeler's qualifications and reputation.

"I see it as a big loss for the chamber and the community," Ramil said. "I've been involved with the chamber for 13 or 14 years, and I think we've had three presidents during that time and Kim's been the one that had the business acumen to understand a balance sheet, an income statement and cash flow statement."

The Richmond chamber considered about 100 candidates for the president/chief executive spot and Scheeler was one of a handful of finalists. Of those finalists, Scheeler was the unanimous choice of the Richmond chamber's search committee, said Katherine Busser, the incoming chair of the chamber.

Busser said the Richmond chamber valued Scheeler for his strategic thinking, his ability to collaborate and his management and leadership abilities.

"He's just got a terrific track record in Tampa and Hillsborough County in forming some very effective partnerships down there," she said.

Scheeler said he wasn't looking to leave Tampa and initially rebuffed a call from an executive recruiter. He and his wife expected to remain in Tampa for a long time, Scheeler said. However, the recruiter continued to press him to consider the Richmond job and Scheeler eventually relented.

The Richmond community may not seem a step up from Tampa, at least in terms of market size. However, its chamber is significantly larger, he said. Where Tampa's chamber has a budget of roughly $2.8 million, the Richmond chamber's budget is about $6 million, Scheeler said. Those figures do not include each chamber's economic development funding. He also liked the regional nature of the Richmond chamber, he said.

Scheeler joined the Tampa chamber about seven years ago after serving as president of the United Way of Hillsborough County. He said he's most proud of the team he has built at the Tampa chamber and the way he has turned around its finances. Upon taking over seven years ago, the chamber's liabilities exceeded its assets by $400,000. Today, assets exceed liabilities by about $470,000. Also, its membership is at a historically high 2,000, he said.

Nonetheless, the chamber is undergoing major transition, which will be exacerbated with Scheeler's departure. Four months ago, the chamber lost its vice president of economic development, Myron Hughes. Hughes was the top staff person for the Committee of 100, the chamber's economic development arm. He left to lead the University of Cincinnati's alumni association. The chamber has yet to announce a replacement.

Also, the Committee of 100's structure is being changed, perhaps because there is frustration at the direction of its business recruitment efforts. The committee's role is to help bring companies to the area, help existing companies expand and keep them from leaving.

With the coming changes, the committee's investors, private companies that contribute money to the organization, will have more say in the direction of economic development efforts, Scheeler said. Some have said that the new structure will take power away from the chamber president, but Scheeler said Thursday that any changes at the Committee of 100 had nothing to do with his departure.

Reporter Michael Sasso can be reached at (813) 259-7865 or msasso@tampatrib.com.

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