MARIA SALINAS
President and CEO
Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce
Last year, the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce named financial consultant Maria Salinas as its new chief executive and president, making her the first Latino and first woman to lead the 130-year-old organization. Salinas is already making a dramatic positive impact as President & Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber, the largest business association in Los Angeles County representing more than 1,600 member companies and serving the interests of more than 235,000 businesses across the Los Angeles region. She has been reaching out to people and businesses that might not have previously felt connected to the chamber, including the Latino business community, young entrepreneurs and those in upstart industries such as technology.
An accomplished business woman, entrepreneur and a stalwart community leader, Salinas’ business acumen and financial expertise has led her to the boardrooms of community organizations, higher education institutions and community banks. She has extensive experience in finance and accounting, corporate governance, audit and regulatory matters.
Salinas founded Salinas Consulting, a finance and accounting consultancy firm. For more than 10 years, Salinas Consulting has worked with major corporations providing collaborative financial expertise to specific engagements. In 2010, Salinas Consulting was awarded the Professional Services Award from the National Latina Business Women’s Association of Los Angeles. Previously, Salinas held financial leadership roles with The Walt Disney Company, where she led a team responsible for global financial reporting controls and compliance. There, she led the creation of the division’s Accounting Shared Services organization and implementation of  Sarbanes-Oxley rules. She also served on numerous finance executive steering committees for company-wide technology initiatives. Prior to her work at the division, Salinas was a member of the management team at the Corporate Controllership level, responsible for technical accounting and financial reporting projects.
She is also a founder of HOPE (Hispanas Organized for Political Equality).
