Joshua Gunn will serve as the president and CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber.
The organization announced on Friday that Gunn, a former member of the National Board of Directors for the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, was selected following a national search for candidates.
Officials said Gunn will start working in early December.
“Gunn has led chambers across diverse high-growth markets and directed public-sector economic deal-making from both sides of the negotiating table,” the Chamber said in a statement.
The new president and CEO’s qualifications detailed corporate recruitment, advanced manufacturing, workforce development, and more. He recently served in Durham, North Carolina, as the director of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development for the city.
Gunn was also the president and CEO of the Glendale Chamber of Commerce in Arizona.
In a statement from the Chamber, Gunn said he is “honored” to join the organization and encourage investment in local small businesses.
He said the city’s corporate and logistical blueprint matched with “entrepreneurial grit, rich cultural heritage,” and work in computer and digital framework, makes it a prime candidate for global competitiveness.
“I look forward to working closely with Chairman Duncan Williams, our Board of Directors, our corporate investors, and our local small business community to accelerate investment and innovation, strengthen our global competitiveness, and ensure that more Memphians share in the prosperity we create,” Gunn said.
Williams, who is interim president and CEO of the Chamber, said Gunn will lead the organization into its “next era of growth.”
“Joshua is a proven chief executive who has sat on both sides of the table,” Williams said. “He knows how to run a major-market chamber, structure complex public-private partnerships, and close transformative deals.”
In a statement Gunn posted on his LinkedIn account, he said, “Long before my career in economic development, I found my voice through hip-hop music, learning firsthand how the arts can tell the story of a community, give voice to its people, and shape its identity. To now have the opportunity to lead in Memphis, a city where music isn’t just part of its history but woven into its rhythm, culture, and very fabric, feels like a beautiful intersection of the paths that have shaped my life.”
Gunn was a member of The Thyrday (pronounced the-thurd-day), a hip-hop group that recorded in the aughts in Durham.
Gunn’s appointment comes months after previous president and CEO Ted Townsend stepped down from the role in April. Townsend was voted into the role in 2022.
