Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/467743
20 MetroWest495 Biz | February 2015 BY EMILY MICUCCI T alk to the heads of local chambers of commerce, and you'll be struck by recurring themes about maintaining a vibrant organization in 2015. In a nutshell, it's not as easy as it once was. A couple of decades ago (or even a few years ago, before the Great Recession), a local business joined its cham- ber of commerce as a matter of course, said Siobhan Bohnson, who was hired as president and CEO of the Milford Area Chamber of Commerce last year after an extensive search and interview process. These days, businesses think long and hard about how to spend extra money, if they have any. "Money is tight for small businesses and people are looking at the dollars they spend … just like I am," Bohnson said. When it comes to persuading those businesses that membership is worth the cost, Bohnson thinks she's the right woman for the job; emphasis on the word "woman." No, she doesn't believe women make better CEOs, but she does think that in the chamber industry, a fresh perspective is needed. And since women hold only about 15 percent of America's CEO positions, and are the chief executives for fewer than 5 percent of Fortune 500 companies, one could argue they do, in fact, offer a fresh take on business leadership. A fresh take? "We look at things totally differently," Bohnson said, as she explained her decision to rebrand the Milford Area chamber with new marketing materials. "Our logo before, to me, was harsh. Now it's softer and I think it's welcoming, and as a chamber, you have to be welcoming." Bohnson's perspective is also unique because, before she arrived in Milford, she had never worked in the chamber industry, but spent years in business development at various banks in Central Massachusetts, plus a stint running a maternity clothing boutique in her hometown of West Boylston. It was this, and not gender, that made Bohnson a frontrunner for the job, Are women creating a new paradigm in chamber leadership? MetroWest-area chamber of commerce executives, clockwise from top left: Karen Chapman, Corridor Nine Area chamber; Jeannie Hebert, Blackstone Valley chamber; Sarah Fletcher, Middlesex West chamber; Sarah Cressy, Assabet Valley chamber; Bonnie Biocchi, MetroWest chamber; and Siobhan Bohnson, Milford Area chamber.