Interview/37″/dt1st/mark2nd

Thomas Decker

Organization: Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce

Title: Chairman

Born: San Francisco, 1937

Education: Stanford University, bachelor’s degree in history and economics

Most Admired Person: Leonardo Da Vinci

Turning Point in Career: Leaving the Navy to enter financial services

Hobbies: Sailing, reading

Personal: Married, two children

By JASON BOOTH

Staff Reporter

Thomas Decker is hoping to win some respect for the beleaguered Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce.

As the chamber’s newly installed chairman, he says his primary mission is to reverse the organization’s chronic decline in membership, which has prompted critics to question the worth of the 110-year-old institution. Membership has fallen from 2,500 just five years ago to around 1,500 currently. By comparison, membership rolls at the Beverly Hills and Long Beach chambers have almost doubled in that period.

Decker plans to reverse the tide by shifting the focus away from the large conglomerates that once dominated the local economy to members of the “new economy,” made up of small and mid-sized businesses. Part of that effort will be to get the chamber more involved in business development projects, through greater ties with business advocacy groups. He will also stress the creation of products that may attract small and mid-sized companies.

Decker’s full-time job is executive vice president for business development and customer relations for Bank of America. He is a former chairman of the Central City Association and the Economic Development Corp. of Los Angeles County.

Question: The chamber has seen a dramatic decline in membership in the last few years. What has been the reason for that?

Answer: It started with the recession and decline in the aerospace industry. Organizations like ours live and die by the health of the economy. It is also competition. There are chambers of commerce so numerous that I probably couldn’t count them all. Those firms that have concentrated geographic activity will probably choose a chamber that is more locally oriented, such as Beverly Hills. Long Beach, meanwhile, has had a very strong direct-marketing campaign focused on their own city, and they did very well. The other reason (for the decline) is that the chamber has simply not focused on membership, instead focusing on products and events.

Q: With fewer members, you have also seen a reduction in revenues. Has this impacted the chamber’s operations?

A: There has been an orderly reduction in staffing, but no spectacular layoffs. I don’t think it has had a major impact on our operations. Like any business, you sometimes have to reconstitute yourself, and that’s what we have been doing. Now we are heading to the next phase, in which we create greater revenues.

Q: So what is your strategy for reversing the decline?

A: New membership is going to have to come from where the bulk of the growth of the economy is coming from, which is small and medium-sized businesses. Until a couple of years ago, the chamber was really not focused on that market. If we are going to continue to be a member-driven organization, we are going to have to turn those numbers around.

Our second vice chairman, Charles Woo (CEO of Megatoys), is a perfect example of (that market). If all goes well, he will be the chairman in two years. He will be the chamber’s first chairman from a small or medium-sized business. His appointment will be in recognition of who is driving the economy today. Meanwhile, our chamber is a five-county chamber. I want to see more membership come out of the outlying counties.

Q: The chamber’s president, Ezunial Burts, has been criticized in some circles for not turning things around. What’s your view?

A: It is easy to criticize. He has a big job that is open to public scrutiny. Nobody figures out that job overnight. You have to understand the complex relationships the chamber has with the outside world. The interrelationships are tough. Everyone has an opinion. It takes a multitalented person to get through that. He wasn’t an experienced chamber president when he took the job. He is now. He has had time to settle in, and now I think he is going to hit his stride.

Q: So what should his priority be now?

A: I think he has done an excellent job of reorganizing our legislative advocacy services, which is a major product. He has also led the restructuring of the chamber. Now he has to really concentrate on the revenue production of the chamber. The priority has to be on that. I say that as a manager myself. As the other areas are humming along, now is the time to focus on the revenue side.

Q: What are some of your other goals as incoming chairman?

A: Since I’ve been here, this chamber has not been directed at economic development. To me, the definition of a chamber of commerce is that it has some kind of a role in economic development. That is, determining what industries are important, what sites are important, what are the impediments and benefits to doing business here that was all really done by other organizations. One of my goals is to form ties with these local agencies, like the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, and other smaller chambers. We are not trying to reinvent the wheel, so we are planning to work with these groups so we will all be heading in the same direction.

Q: So what are some of the industries that the chamber will be focusing on under this new business development strategy?

A: Biotech, high tech, toys, entertainment, fashion. Trade and manufacturing are huge industries here. And because they are well established, they are easier for us to deal with. But the growth industries that I mentioned are industries that we will focus on. They are the driving force behind the economy.

Q: If I own a small or mid-sized business, why should I bother joining the chamber?

A: One of the reasons you should bother is the strategic products that we offer, particularly legislative advocacy. So rather than setting up your own organization that will deal with city, state or federal government, you can get that benefit through the chamber. That includes lobbying in Washington, meetings with legislators in Sacramento and constant contact with the L.A. City Council. That’s something that the big companies don’t need because they have their own internal operations.

We are also trying to offer more products that appeal to small and medium businesses, like group discounts on workers’ compensation and business insurance. Again, these are products that large companies don’t need from the chamber because they can get them on their own.

Q: What do you think the government should do to improve the business environment?

A: The municipal institutions have to make their operations more business-friendly. Basically, anything that would make it easier for business here to sustain itself and grow, or come from another region. In the recent past, L.A. has been seen as a difficult place to do business. That means too many forms, meetings, taxes and fees. The current people in power recognize that and are trying to change it. An example is the new tax proposal made by the mayor. By and large that is favorable, though there are going to be a couple of businesses that won’t like it, particularly entertainment, because they will see their rates go up a little.

Q: As chairman of the chamber, what is your view on the local economy this year?

A: My outlook is good, but it is not robust. I believe the economy is still rising, but not at a steep curve. The open question is, what will be the effect of the Asian flu?

We have shifted to more of a service economy. While I don’t think that industry is going to be on an upward trajectory, it is not clear whether it is going to be on a downward trajectory. The entertainment industry, which has huge importance here, is not on an upward trajectory. It is the big, highly organized companies that are not going to grow. With the advent of new technologies that allow one to work at home, and communicate via the Internet, it is not clear whether the giant infrastructure of these large companies is still required.

Q: What does Bank of America get out of allowing you to spend time on the chamber?

A: I have been associated with this chamber for six years, and the San Francisco chamber before that. I’ve spent a lot of time doing chamber-type work, especially as it relates to Bank of America’s community-type work. As a very large consumer-oriented company, it is a very important for us that we work hard in the community, which is our marketplace. And the Los Angeles area is, I believe, our largest single marketplace in the world. Every new job created, every business that grows, brings us new business. So this is not a totally charitable enterprise for us.