The Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce has tapped a local business and executive coach to serve as its interim president and CEO.
Cotrenia Hood assumed her new role Monday, announced Julie Schmelzle, chair of the chamber’s board of directors and senior vice president at Bank of America. Hood temporarily succeeds Michael Dalby, who stepped down in late May after seven years as the chamber’s CEO and president to accept a new economic development position at the University of Texas at El Paso.
“I am so pleased to have Cotrenia on the chamber team as we work with Winner Partners national CEO search firm for a permanent CEO,” Schmelzle said. “She brings a breadth of experience to this position as we enhance the value of service to our members and strengthen the economic health of the community.”
In accepting the chamber’s interim leadership role, Hood said she considers it an honor to serve the local business community and is committed to ensuring a smooth transition as the organization continues its mission to make Collier County the best place to live, work and play.
“Chamber work is in my DNA,” said Hood, noting that she fell in love with economic development after Hurricane Katrina created unique opportunities where she lived in Louisiana.
Hood has more than 20 years of business experience, including a four-year stint as vice president of business development for the Greater Naples Chamber and two years as membership director for the St. Tammany Chamber of Commerce in Louisiana.
For the last seven years, the local entrepreneur has been self-employed as the CEO of Steel Bleu, a Naples-based business and executive coaching firm. Hood also previously was director of development for Youth Haven Inc. in Naples and the 2013 co-chair of the Love that Dress fundraising event for PACE Center for Girls.
A graduate of Leadership Collier, Hood has been recognized as a 2013 recipient of Gulfshore Business magazine’s 40 Under 40, Florida Weekly’s Power Women and Leadership Florida’s Cornerstone Class 40.
Hood is on the steering committee for the five-year strategic plan that the chamber is in the process of finalizing. Dalby was instrumental in creating the plan that now will serve as a guide for his successor.
“The strategic plan will lay a strong foundation for the chamber’s next leader,” Hood said. “The idea is that we will have a completed document the latter part of August or early September.”
In May, the Naples Chamber formed a CEO search committee comprised of seven members of its board of directors. At that time, Schmelzle expected a three-month search with three to six months for the new CEO to take office. The search committee will work with Winner Partners, a privately held, executive recruitment firm based in St. Petersburg.
The Florida firm has a track record of leadership selection in the state that includes organizations, such as the Tampa Bay Economic Development Council, Tampa Bay Partnership, Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg and Miami-Dade County. The certified, woman-owned business is designed as a collaborative platform matching seasoned executive search consultants with successful industry leaders. Its nationwide client base consists of nonprofits, public-private partnerships, public entities and privately owned organizations.
The Greater Naples Chamber is a nonprofit organization of more than 1,050 active members that works to strengthen the local economy and promote the business community. The chamber accomplishes this through public policy and business advocacy, leadership programs, executive business forums and sessions and enhanced member benefits and services, according to a news release.
