JAX Chamber President Wally Lee will step down Dec. 31 as president of the organization after 23 years in the role, the chamber announced Thursday.
JAXUSA Partnership President Jerry Mallot will serve as interim chamber president and CEO beginning Jan. 1 while Lee serves in an advisory role through March and transitions to retirement.
Kelly Madden, North Florida wholesale regional president of Wells Fargo, will chair the search committee to hire a long-term president and CEO, the chamber said.
Ed Burr, Greenpointe Holdings president and CEO, will serve as committee vice chair. Madden and Burr are former chamber chairs.
Lee joined the chamber as president in 1989 after serving as president of the Mobile, Ala., and Spartanburg, S.C., chambers of commerce. His career included time as director of industrial development at the Greenville, S.C., chamber, according to the release.
His retirement will coincide with his 65th birthday.
"After almost a quarter century as JAX Chamber president, I announce my retirement with a dash of bitter sweetness but with tremendous energy about the possibility of continuing to contribute to our region's health in new and different ways," Lee said in the release.
The JAX Chamber has a $7 million budget and about 3,000 members and 50 employees, making it one of the largest in country, according to the release.
"Wally has represented Northeast Florida very effectively at the local, national and international levels," said Tom Van Berkel, 2012 chamber chair, in the release.
According to the chamber, Lee led efforts to attract employers that created thousands of jobs, established the Cornerstone — now rebranded JAXUSA Partnership — economic development division, developed entrepreneurial growth programs like the Jacksonville Women's Business Center, contributed toward the National Football League awarding the Jacksonville Jaguars to the city and championed civil rights.
"The quality of life in Jacksonville comes from the steady work of Chamber leaders moving a city forward every day, every year. Wally has been the leader of that pack for more than two decades," past chamber Chair Ron Autrey said in the release.
In the transition, chamber Vice President Anna Valent will assume additional operational and administrative duties.
"I'm looking forward to the interim role … and then getting back to economic development," Mallot said in a voice mail message late Thursday.
Lee's retirement was not announced at the JAXUSA Partnership quarterly meeting Thursday at noon at the Hyatt Downtown.
Mallot also has been serving as an executive on loan to Mayor Alvin Brown's administration for economic development.
Brown appointed Theodore Carter as the City Office of Economic Development executive director on Nov. 16, with Carter expected to begin the role in early January, which coincides with Mallot's interim role.
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