ABQ Hispano chamber leader plans to retire
12-year stint to end in spring of next year
One of the country’s largest Hispanic chambers is going to need a new leader.
Alex O. Romero has confirmed his plans to retire next spring after 12 years as president and CEO of the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce, an organization with almost 1,500 members and an annual budget of about $3 million.
Romero, already a retired banker, said he had long considered age 70 the “magic number” for his next transition, and he turns 70 in April. His last day is April 28.
He also said he believes a change at the top can help an organization grow.
“I’ve had a great career here and done some amazing things, but it’s also important to allow the organization to continue to look to the future — What do we look like in five years? — and I feel like that’s probably somebody else’s idea,” he said. “We have a plan, and I think it’s up to somebody else to execute and add to or delete from whatever that plan might be.”
Romero had a 35-year banking career before starting at the chamber in 2004. The Taos native might still have another act in him, perhaps in politics. He said he has no definite plans for his future beyond April but hinted it might involve seeking elected office.
“Maybe,” he said. “I think everything is possible.”
Romero said the chamber’s board will determine his replacement. Newly installed Chairman Rudy Beserra did not immediately respond to a Journal email Tuesday. How the board will search for a new CEO is not clear, but Romero said he does not think it will have to look far. While cautioning that the decision is not his to make, he said he would recommend the board promote Chief Operating Officer Synthia Jaramillo to president and CEO.
Jaramillo is part of what Romero said is a 23-person chamber staff, an operation he likens to a small business in its own right.
Romero’s tenure included construction of a second phase at the chamber’s $5 million campus on 4th Street and, he said, a continued commitment to serving small businesses of all kinds. The chamber does not limit membership to Hispanic-owned businesses, and Romero said 30 percent are not Hispanic-owned.