Search for new CEO, president of Chamber of Commerce under way

The search for a new CEO/president of the Houma-Terrebonne Chamber of Commerce is under way following the announcement that Kandy Theriot is resigning.

Theriot has held the top job for seven and a half years. She is leaving to take a job with NovoPrint USA as vice president of business development. As such, Theriot will be selling advertisements for the company’s publications and managing the sales team across the southern U.S.

“NovoPrint USA prints maps and guides for chambers to promote the community, so I will still be working with the local chamber,” Theriot said. In fact, her first act on the new job will be to join the Houma-Terrebonne Chamber of Commerce.

Theriot also is not ruling out seeking a board or committee seat with the local chamber. “That’s the great thing about staying in Houma,” she said. “I can possibly put my name up for boards that I would not have been able to serve on in my role as chamber president.”

Theriot’s move will not come until late December, leaving ample time for the new board to be seated and the 2008 budget to be finalized. “It will all coincide with the board, the banquet and the budget being wrapped up,” she said. “With a new person coming on, all of that can be overwhelming. This should make the transition go smoother.”

During Theriot’s tenure, the Houma chamber went from being an accredited chamber to a four-star Chamber of Commerce in 2005. And after seven years of lobbying in Washington, D.C., Theriot counts high among the chamber’s “wins” the passage of the Water Resources Development Act last week.

“Every year we’ve made the trek to Washington to talk to leaders about the importance of WRDA to Terrebonne Parish,” she said. “I am really excited that WRDA was finally authorized while I am still working here.”

Theriot credits the chamber board’s decision years earlier to become a proactive, issues-oriented chamber. “We don’t do fundraisers, we focus all of our efforts on major issues,” she said. “More and more people have become aware the chamber is the voice of the business community in Terrebonne Parish.”

Another coup for the chamber and Theriot was her selection as the state’s Chamber of Commerce Executive of the Year in 2004 and 2007.

Search for new CEO, president of Chamber of Commerce under way