Target Publishing Partner Recognized as CEO of the Year in Utah

Big news for us this week as Chamber President and CEO Lane Beattie was honored as CEO of the Year by Utah Business magazine. Below is an excerpt from the article (thanks, good friends at Utah Business). To read the entire article, go to UtahBusiness.com.

In a history-making era when CEOs across the country fell by the wayside as quickly as company revenues dropped and unemployment rose, some CEOs found their finest hour. Utah Business magazine is proud to celebrate eight of Utah’s outstanding CEOs, who used their hard-earned experience and roll-up-your-sleeve-and-get-to-it work ethic to not only hold their companies together, but to lead them to exceptional success. Several of our CEO of the Year honorees credit other leaders for setting a standard they could follow. Other CEO honorees made decisions that some might consider risky business. But all of these outstanding leaders share a common belief in not settling for the status quo. Join us as we honor eight of Utah’s top leaders in our 2010 CEO of the Year recognition feature.

Lane Beattie, Salt Lake Chamber

If you ever have an opportunity to listen to Lane Beattie offer business advice, you’re likely to hear something that resembles an Olympic champion’s mantra: work hard, do more than is expected of you, make good decisions and be willing to do the things others are not willing to do.

They are fitting beliefs coming from a leader who helped put Utah on the map as chief Olympic officer for the state from 2000 to 2003, where he oversaw the 2002 Winter Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. It was after a winning run in that role that Beattie became president and CEO of the Salt Lake Chamber. Today, his goal is to strengthen Utah’s business community and the state’s overall economy.

“Lane Beattie is a pragmatic CEO,” says Marty Carpenter, director of communication and marketing at the chamber. “He’s not afraid to change directions when necessary, but isn’t one to take risks solely to take risks.”

Beattie shifted the chamber’s focus from a primarily networking organization to one that influences public policy to benefit businesses. Since then, health system reform has been a top priority for the chamber, which recently celebrating the passage of HB 188, which expands access to the health insurance market through the Utah Health Exchange. The Salt Lake Chamber also helped the business community understand and concentrate on the importance of transportation infrastructure and education. “We did it by building coalitions, collaborating and educating people about the need,” Beattie says.

Under Beattie’s leadership, the Salt Lake Chamber’s membership grew from 4,200 organizations at the beginning of 2009 to 5,700 by the end of the year, a period when many chambers in the country were losing memberships. The Salt Lake Chamber also had its strongest sales month in the history of the organization in October 2009.

“In today’s world, it is very important to stay focused and prepare for change,” says Beattie. “Through it all you must apply the principles of integrity and common sense and give everything great effort.”

Source: http://www.slchamberblog.com/chamber-president-lane-beattie-named-ceo-of...