Kelowna

The Kelowna Chamber is excited to welcome a new CEO, Caroline Grover, effective August 2nd, 2011.

She replaces Weldon LeBlanc, who announced earlier this year he would be stepping down.

Photo: Contributed

Caroline Glover will take over as CEO of the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce August 2.

Caroline comes to the Chamber with an experienced background in membership and community organizations. 

She has been the Executive Director for the Economic Development Alliance of Southeast Alberta for the past two and a half years. 

She is no stranger to the business community in Southeast Alberta; local media seeks her opinion frequently and she is at the table when communities’ futures are discussed. 

A highly seasoned economic development practitioner, over the past 19 years she has left a legacy of successful projects and initiatives in AB and BC. Grover has started Business Improvement Areas, Downtown Revitalization projects, Business Coaching programs, and raised millions for community infrastructure, to name a few.

Caroline has a Certificate in Retail Management from St. Lawrence College in Cornwall Ontario; a Certificate in Economic Development from the University of Waterloo, Waterloo Ontario, and is in the process of obtaining a Diploma in Public Relations from the University of Victoria.   

People who work with Caroline call her focused, energetic, and a collaborator, and through her strategic planning and effective communications she continues to achieve community buy-in, participation in events, and project funding, creating jobs and adding value to the area.

Held in high regard by her staff, her Board and the elected Councils of Southeast Alberta, Caroline and her team were recognized with four Alberta Economic Development Marketing Awards and one National award in 2010.

Caroline has spent most of her adult life in Kamloops and Salmon Arm, and has children and extended family here in the Interior. She is an avid motorcyclist and gardener.

“I am particularly excited about the job and living in Kelowna for a few reasons. One is the opportunity to blend my experience in community development and managing membership organizations into the role of the CEO, and to share my experience and energy with the staff and board to achieve their goals," says Glover. 

"On a personal level, I want to live and contribute to a community with sustainability values, strong agricultural roots and an interest in offering an inclusive place to live and grow businesses.”