The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce board of directors voted to hire Mike Brenan as the organization’s new president and CEO. The organization also announced changes in executive-level staff positions.
Brenan has served the role on an interim basis since the former president and CEO, Bob Morgan, resigned in June.
“Soon after Mike took on this challenge on an interim basis, it became clear that he was the right person to lead the chamber more permanently as we adapt to further amplify the voices of South Carolina’s business community,” board chair Will Whitley said in a news release. Whitley is with Michelin North America. “Mike’s unique experience in business and non-profit leadership, along with his history of service to our state, will serve our members small and large, new and old extremely well in the future.”
Brenan has been an active member of the South Carolina business community for decades, including time served on the chamber board, and as the board chair. He spent decades in South Carolina’s banking industry before retiring in 2023 as the South Carolina regional president for Truist Bank.
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“With the incredibly talented team we have in place, the leadership of our members, and the state’s strong economy, the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce has a great opportunity to be the premier business-minded advocacy organization in the nation, and that’s exactly what we expect to become,” Brenan said in the release.
Brenan received the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the United Way of the Midlands in 2012, he has served on the boards of the South Carolina Philharmonic, the United Way Association of South Carolina, the Governor’s School for Science & Mathematics Foundation, the Moore School Business Partnership Foundation, the South Carolina Independent Colleges & Universities Foundation, the South Carolina State Board of Education and other organizations, the release said.
Brenan made some staff changes to the organization’s leadership, the release stated.
Cynthia Bennett, who has served in numerous roles at the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce for over 25 years, has been namedexecutive vice presidentandchief operating officer. Immediately prior to the promotion, Bennett served as the organization’s chief diversity officer and executive of the S.C. Chamber of Education and Workforce Foundation.
Will Frierson, who has served as the chamber’s vice president of government affairs since 2021, has been namedexecutive vice presidentandchief government affairs officer.Prior to joining the chamber, Frierson was the government relations manager for the National Cotton Council of America, where he assisted in coordinating the Washington, D.C., activities of the NCC and oversaw the organization’s political activities.
Lowndes Macdonald has been namedexecutive vice presidentandchief revenue officer. Having been in executive fundraising roles for nearly 15 years, Macdonald will lead all revenue-generating efforts for the organization including through member recruitment and retention, along with other fundraising efforts, the release said. Macdonald’s first day at the organization is scheduled for Sept. 3.
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