Q&A: Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Dan Walsh

Dan Walsh has served as president and chief executive officer of the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce since 2005. During the past two years, he's overseen a major overhaul of chamber operations and sought to make the organization more financially self-sufficient.

Patch caught up with Walsh to talk about the chamber and its involvement with the city.

Beverly Hills Patch: What has been your greatest accomplishment as president and CEO?

Dan Walsh: I'm proud of the work we've started in transforming the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce into a self-sufficient organization, independent of city funding. As you know, the Convention and Visitors Bureau has been separated and we have lost the funding that was associated with that program. Economic development continues to be aligned with the chamber, and we receive a relatively small about of city funding for prescribed services, including the New York sales mission and a potential Business Improvement District. It's important for people to understand, the city pays us for services they want to buy ... they could buy those services elsewhere.

Patch: Is city funding crucial to having a healthy chamber?

DW: It's a big accomplishment that we have reduced our dependence on city funding. The chamber used to derive about 70 percent of its funding from the city; it is now down to around 25 percent. Again, they pay for services they want to buy. There's no funding provided by the city because we are the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce.

Patch: Has the sale of the chamber's building at 239 S. Beverly Drive been completed?

DW: Our building has been sold in a co-op to the city. We sold it free and clear and paid off a FEMA loan for under $100,000 associated with the Northridge earthquake. We have bought the second floor of a new city-owned building planned for the corner of Little Santa Monica and Canon Drive. It's a big accomplishment that allows us to stabilize our finances.

Patch: How has chamber membership been affected by the recession?

DW: Like everyone, we've been affected by the recession, but we've managed to sustain ourselves quite nicely. As a city, we entered the recession later than others and we expect as a community to emerge earlier than others. We have lost about 10 to 12 percent of our membership because of the recession, but we haven't found it necessary to change our pricing. Our membership has stabilized.

Patch: Why is the chamber supportive of the Subway to the Sea extension?

DW: Our support of the Subway to the Sea is because our businesses need to look at mass transit to get employees and shoppers to Beverly Hills. It will take 15 minutes to get to downtown Los Angeles and 15 minutes to get to Beverly Hills ... when that comes about it will be an efficient transportation system. We believe it will also boost tourism. The chamber supports the Wilshire alignment with a station at La Cienega Boulevard and the Rodeo/Beverly station. We have not taken a position on the subway west from Beverly Hills.

Patch: What role does the chamber have in the 9-02-10 celebration later this year?

DW: We are promoting the event on behalf of the city. The annual Evening with the Mayor and his State of the City address has been moved from the Greystone Mansion and will be part of the 9-02-10 celebration, taking place before the event.

Patch: How has Beverly Hills changed since you took over the chamber?

DW: The city has changed dramatically. We have suffered some of the effects of the recession, but the core of the city is very similar as it was five years ago. We are still a luxury, lifestyle community. There are seven core business sectors that support the city. The most noticeable are retail, hospitality and entertainment. Those sectors were five years ago and are today the underpinning to the economy of Beverly Hills.