The nationwide search for the new Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce president & CEO continues to move forward.
Shortly after the Search Committee was appointed and the executive search firm, Searchwide, was contracted, a needs assessment was conducted. The needs assessment consisted of meetings, calls and emails with nearly 90 key stakeholders, including Search Committee members, chamber board Executive Committee members and many public and private sector business and community leaders.
A position description was created from the needs assessment, revised and approved by the Search Committee and posted on several organization and company websites, including Searchwide, Glenn Shepard Chamber Exec Openings, Bill Geist Job Board, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, Carolinas Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, Destination International and Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.
“Searchwide vetted candidates by aggressively networking, prospecting, recruiting and interviewing. This resulted in over 300 conversations and connections with potential candidates and industry leaders throughout the US and the world,” said Jim Creel Jr., chair of the Search Committee. “Searchwide then screened and interviewed more than 50 candidates to determine the top 15 candidates to present to the Search Committee for review and discussion. The committee spent over three hours meeting to discuss each candidate at length and select the most qualified candidates for face to face interviews.”
“We are now in the interviewing stage of the process. The candidates exhibit gender and ethnic diversity and we have been very impressed with their professionalism and experience,” said Carla Schuessler, chair of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. “This process has been extremely thorough and has included additional significant details regarding reference checks; federal, state and county background checks; pre-employment credit checks; and driving and education verification. DISC personality assessments were also completed, which provided insight into each candidate’s leadership and management style.”
Additional interviews will be conducted by the Executive Committee based on recommendations of the Search Committee, with final approval by the Board of Directors.