Naperville chamber parts ways with CEO

The president and CEO of the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce has been “released from his duties” by the group’s board of directors, officials said Thursday.

John Schmitt, 62, headed the chamber for the past three years. He’s been involved in the chamber in some degree since 1985, also serving as a past chairman of the board.

But Shane Beard, chairman of the board of directors, said the board and Schmitt “could not find common ground on the required steps the chamber needed to take to move forward and therefore we are choosing to part ways ...”

The board voted unanimously Wednesday morning to sever ties with Schmitt.

“The chamber is on solid ground financially, but just as any small or large business owners, we are faced with budgetary issues, and keeping a close eye on revenues coming in and expenses going out,” Beard said Thursday afternoon. “We also need to take a really hard look at our budgets, pensions and benefits and keep all of that in check.”

Beard refused to comment on any contract the chamber may have had in place during Schmitt’s tenure.

“Let’s just say there were some agreements in place and leave it at that,” he said.

In no way, Beard said, should the dismissal “tarnish Schmitt’s reputation or status as a community leader.”

Schmitt, reached by phone Thursday, called the chamber a “phenomenal organization.”

“It is a difficult situation but I stand by my record during the three great years I spent at the chamber,” Schmitt said. “I leave the Naperville Area Chamber of Commerce in a much better place than I found it and I wish them nothing but the best moving forward.”

Officials at the Naperville Development Partnership, the organization Schmitt was charged with working with when he was hired in 2009, declined to comment.

Mayor George Pradel said he was “stunned” to learn of Schmitt’s dismissal. He called Schmitt a key player in luring Navistar to Lisle.

“John was a natural at his job so I think we may be licking our wounds for a bit after his departure,” Pradel said. “To the best of my knowledge, the chamber has been growing with members during his three years here and that’s because he worked so closely with us to promote economic development throughout the area.”

Beard would not comment on whether membership has, in fact, grown during Schmitt’s tenure.

In the short term, Beard said the board and executive committee will oversee chamber business. Tami Andrew, the chamber’s vice president for operations and member services, will continue to run the day-to-day operation.

Beard said an interim president and CEO will be named soon and the search for a permanent successor already has begun.

Beard said the membership and board have not yet discussed or decided what skills or qualities they’ll look for in the next CEO, but he is already asking members to forward suggestions for a new CEO to the chamber office.

Schmitt, meanwhile, said he intends to take some time to smell the roses and evaluate things.

“I’m probably going to retire for a little bit and then check out some other opportunities,” he said. “I’ll be OK.”