A Merger of Influence
Tucson Metro Chamber & Sun Corridor Inc. Now One
By Jay Gonzales
The idea to merge two of the most prominent − some might say the most influential − business organizations in Tucson was a relative no-brainer to the point of some wondering why it didn’t happen sooner.
The Tucson Metro Chamber, originally formed in 1896, and Sun Corridor Inc., which has roots dating to 1989 when the Greater Tucson Economic Council was formed, merged into one all-encompassing business organization to put business advocacy, small business services, and economic development and job creation under one roof.
The Chamber of Southern Arizona was unveiled May 2 at a luncheon attended by more than 700, emceed by Susan Gray, former chair of the Sun Corridor Inc. board and now chair of The Chamber of Southern Arizona. Gray is president and CEO of Tucson Electric Power. Suzanne Clark, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, gave the keynote address.
“Our move to form this new chamber solidifies Tucson and Southern Arizona as a region exploring new ways of leading – bringing together large, diverse groups that develop bold, creative solutions to regional issues,” Gray said in the news release announcing the merger.
As it turned out, the two organizations were on separate but similar tracks headed toward the merger that eventually occurred.
Linda Welter, principal and CEO at Caliber Group, a local marketing and PR firm, was serving as board chair for the Tucson Metro Chamber and helped lead it into the merger. She said that during the organization’s strategic planning process leadership realized it needed to take action to step up its influence in the community for the good of its members, and it began exploring options.
“The Tucson Metro Chamber board determined that the organization needed to make a bold change in direction to support a region where businesses can thrive,” she said. “While the Chamber was gaining momentum, its resources, influence and impact was not enough to adequately support member growth and job creation in the current business climate.”
Joe Snell, who was president and CEO of Sun Corridor Inc. and now holds the same title for The Chamber of Southern Arizona, said he had long been receiving feedback that the region needed to consolidate its business groups. He was being told there were too many groups vying for the attention of businesses, government, other business groups and, of course, the general public. They were also competing for the financial support needed for them to do their work.
“We already had a sense of this,” said Snell. “We did focus groups and surveys, and the No. 1 issue that came out from the locals was, there’s too many groups.”
Snell said he even heard from Senator Mark Kelly that there were too many business delegations vying for his time and advocacy and there needed to be some consolidation.
“He was very clear,” Snell said. “We started adding all this up, and it became very clear that we needed to see unification happen.”
For Michael Guymon, president and CEO of the Tucson Metro Chamber since 2018 and a Sun Corridor Inc. VP for eight years before that, it was an easy fit. Guymon’s new title is chief advocacy officer, meaning he still does his old job of advocating for the region’s businesses.
One of the key bridges that had to be crossed in the merger was a level of trust between the two organizations that the work they each had been doing could co-exist in one organization. Guymon said he and Snell both researched similar mergers and attempts, some of which were successful and some of which failed.
“They failed because of a lack of trust and egos,” Guymon said. “I trust Joe immensely. We had a great working relationship when I was at Sun Corridor, and we continued to have a great relationship after I joined the Chamber team. The trust was established.
“We were able to set our egos aside because we know this is a 20-year vision, not a three-year vision. We had to figure out who’s going to be the CEO and who’s going to kind of take a step back. For me, it was easy. I worked for Joe. I will work for Joe again.”
Welter said the Metro Chamber’s stakeholders, including the executive leadership of the board and the staff, were enthusiastically behind the idea to merge with Sun Corridor Inc.
“A majority of the chamber’s stakeholders overwhelmingly supported the merger so that the business attraction and advocacy teams could work closely together under one roof, one strategy, one board, and one CEO,” Welter said. “We believed this organizational change was needed to position the new chamber for success in attracting and retaining more higher-wage jobs for our region when competition for these jobs is fierce.”
As the idea to merge took hold, leadership of both organizations met together to hammer out structure and how the work would get done.
“What we did is spend most of the time talking about what value looked like,” Snell said. “Eighty percent of the time was spent just getting to value. And once we had that, then we started talking about what the structure looks like.”
The new structure has Snell in charge with four direct reports: Guymon as chief advocacy officer; Susan Dumon as chief economic development officer; Angela Kish, chief financial officer; and Laura Shaw, chief communications officer. Dumon was an executive VP and Kish and Shaw were senior VPs at Sun Corridor Inc. Both Snell and Shaw have previous chamber experience, and several staff,
including Snell, are former small business owners or operators.
“A couple things that were really in our favor is that we were both solid organizations − fiscally solid − and there wasn’t a lot of overlap between the two,” Snell said. “Sun Corridor Inc., which represents primary job employers both large and small, had a separate funding stream. And the Chamber had a different funding stream, so they were very additive to each other.”
Now comes the work with all the same hot spots on economic development issues such as job creation, talent development and acquisition, and infrastructure. The advocacy side has issues with business regulation, taxes and having a say in how the Tucson region continues to develop from a business standpoint.
“We must have at seat at the table regarding policies and regulations that impact local business,” Welter said. “Our members count on us to advocate for them regarding important decisions that impact their business growth here.”
With two organizations that have had significant influence in the community coming together, it’s reasonable to expect that the new chamber’s influence should multiply at least two-fold, if not more.
Admittedly, Snell said, he needs to adjust his daily approach as president and CEO to incorporate the strategies of the advocacy side of the organization. He said he’s planning a “listening tour” to find out from businesses, “What do you want? What do you need? What’s important to you?”
“Economic development is in our DNA. We’re not going to change from that,” Snell said. “Everything happens when you create a tax base. All good things happen from it.”
But with business advocacy now under one roof with economic development, the two can work in concert addressing the many critical business issues.
“Bringing us together was a ‘Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup’ moment. We were able to take those economic development and competitive issues only so far because we weren’t tasked with policy and advocacy as a pure economic development group.” Snell said. “We don’t have to hand that off to another group. We can identify it, measure the competitive side of it, and go out and work.”
Pictured above from left – Joe Snell, President & CEO,The Chamber of Southern Arizona; Susan Gray, President & CEO, Tucson Electric Power, Board Chair, The Chamber of Southern Arizona. Photos by KVRcreative
