The Dallas Regional Chamber has chosen Brad Cheves, a longtime Southern Methodist University executive who recently led the university through a record-setting, multiyear fundraising round, as its next president and CEO.
His selection comes after Dale Petroskey, a former member of President Ronald Reagan’s communications staff and president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame who has led the group for over a decade, announced in July he would step down at the end of the year for personal reasons.
Cheves, 63, will assume the high-profile business leadership role in early January, the organization told The Dallas Morning News.
“I’m really honored,” Cheves said in an interview. “This was not something I was looking for — it found me, and [in] every conversation I just got more excited about my hometown region and what the opportunities are.”
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Cheves also thanked the DRC’s board and Petroskey specifically, who first contacted him about the role. He laid out an early vision of his plan to help steward D-FW’s considerable economic growth as an executive focused on collaborating with a broad spectrum of North Texas community leaders and industries.
“From business to education to civic to nonprofit sectors, I really feel like my goals are going to sync, in that we’re going to build on that strength,” he added. “And I think the Chamber — and one of the hallmarks of the things that I hope to bring to this role — is as a convener. A convener of the kinds of things that will maintain that momentum.”
Petroskey, who plans to stay on until just before Cheves’ first day, offered his full-throated endorsement.
“I think he was chosen because he’s a proven leader,” the outgoing DRC president said in an interview. “He’s highly respected. He’s well established throughout the community, and so many people know him as a friend.”
Petroskey also pointed to Cheves’ long history of working alongside R. Gerald Turner, SMU’s former president, as evidence of Cheves’ strong collaborative track record.
“Part of this role is to lead a staff, work with your members, but also to make sure that you are working closely with your chair, and making sure that that chair is always prepared for their responsibilities. And I sort of viewed Brad working with Gerald as the way I would work with a chair.”
Turner retired in the spring after leading SMU for 30 years. In June, he was replaced by Jay Hartzell, who previously served as the president of the University of Texas at Austin.
Cheves — who first began working at SMU in the late 1990s and has three sons who have attended the university, including one who is currently a senior — told The News that while it’s difficult to leave the institution, he also feels encouraged by its recent trajectory and near-term prospects.
“There’s no good time to leave a place you love, but I am all in on what I think the future is of SMU with President Hartzell,” Cheves said. “And so there is great strength, and if you are going to step off the ship, it’s probably good to do it at a time like this, when it’s at its zenith of strength, reputation and global reach.”
In a statement, Hartzell praised Cheves’ contributions and cited a desire to continue working together. “We are incredibly proud that a dedicated Mustang will lead the Chamber at this important time,” he added.
Cheves’ selection was the result of a nationwide executive search led by both Russell Reynolds Associates, a management consulting firm, and a committee of nine past and future Chamber board chairs. Members of that committee roundly praised both the monthslong search process and the ultimate decision to hire Cheves.
“His record of achievement and impact at SMU provides a strong foundation for advancing the DRC’s legacy in service and impact, while continuing the remarkable momentum built under Dale’s leadership,” Darcy Anderson, the vice chairman of Hillwood Management, said in a statement.
Cheves’ appointment also drew praise from one of North Texas’ biggest names: In a statement, Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called Cheves “the right person at the right time.”
“I’m confident,” Jones added, “that he’s going to continue with his remarkable record of success that he established at SMU as he writes this next chapter of growth with the DRC.”
Cheves is a New Mexico native who graduated from Abilene Christian University and Pepperdine University’s law school. In addition to the “SMU Ignited” fundraising push, which the university concluded earlier this year after surpassing its $1.5 billion goal, Cheves also led earlier major fundraising efforts, and worked on SMU’s successful push to land the George W. Bush Presidential Center, which opened in 2013.
He’s served in his current role, as the university’s senior vice president for development and external affairs, since 2004.
He’ll take the helm of the influential regional business group, which counts some 700 area businesses as members, amid a prolonged boomtime for North Texas. For years now, the D-FW region has ranked among the country’s fastest growing metro areas and economies, as a groundswell of new residents and companies have relocated to the area.
More recent economic data suggests the ferocious pace of local growth is slowing, largely due to macroeconomic conditions and federal policies, although economists are generally still optimistic about D-FW’s underlying prospects. And so is Cheves, who said he was confident about the region’s continued economic success in part because of what he characterized as a strong “can-do spirit” throughout North Texas’ history.
“Obviously, I’m bullish,” he added.