SAN JOSE — Leah Toeniskoetter, the new CEO of the San Jose Chamber of Commerce, has hit the ground running as the head of a business group that seeks strong leadership after recent years of turmoil and turnover.
“I’m observing and listening,” Toeniskoetter, the chamber’s new president and chief executive officer, said in an interview with this news organization on Monday. “I need to understand what our members’ needs are and to attend to those needs.”
Toeniskoetter met and chatted on Monday with business leaders and others as part of a monthly “coffee and connections” gathering at the organization’s downtown San Jose offices.
She seeks to weave together as much information as possible from businesses as she crafts near-term and long-term strategies and tactics for the Chamber of Commerce as it attempts to steady and bolster the fortunes of businesses, large and small, throughout San Jose.
Toeniskoetter takes the helm at the chamber at a time when the business advocacy group aims to halt what had become a revolving door for the top post at the organization.
The Chamber of Commerce picked Toeniskoetter as its third leader in about three years — right when downtown San Jose is battling to escape an economic “doom loop.”
Toeniskoetter is a business veteran with plenty of experience. Her prior roles included stints at Toeniskoetter Development, SPUR San Jose and accounting titan Deloitte.
She has now become the 12th president and CEO of the San Jose Chamber of Commerce. Toenisoetter succeeds Derrick Seaver, who resigned unexpectedly in August 2023.
Some observers believe Seaver helped put the San Jose Chamber on firmer ground in the wake of a scandal over a racist chamber political ad that showed Black men engulfed in tear gas with the message, “Do you really want to sign on to this?” — a reference, the group said at the time, to the consequences of cutting the police budget.
The CEO at that time resigned in October 2020, followed by the hiring in April 2021 of Seaver as the new CEO.
Toeniskoetter met with 50-plus people who attended the meet-and-greet at the chamber headquarters, making the rounds to talk with people in small groups and individually. She will use this and other meetings, along with a quest for data, to help set the priorities for the chamber.
“Downtown San Jose is always a priority,” Toeniskoetter said.
The city’s downtown remains woozy due to the side-effects of the government-mandated business shutdowns in San Jose and throughout the Bay Area.
Even so, Toeniskoetter made it clear that she seeks to attend to the needs of businesses, small, large and in-between, throughout the city.
“I’m trying to figure out what all businesses need in San Jose,” Toeniskoetter said. “I want to be representative of the whole business community in the city.”
She also made it clear that her listening endeavors have already helped bolster her efforts and strategies.
“It’s great to hear what all of these businesses care about,” Toeniskoetter said Monday. “It’s fantastic to see this new energy. This is a real joy.”