Dallas Regional Chamber President and CEO Dale Petroskey [Photo: Dallas Regional Chamber]

The longtime leader of the Dallas Regional Chamber has announced he intends to leave his role as president and CEO of the organization at year’s end after nearly 12 years of leadership.

Dale Petroskey, who turns 70 in the coming weeks, cited personal reasons for his decision, including a desire to be more available for his family after his wife, Ann, was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in December.

“I love this job and wish it could go on forever, but nothing lasts forever,” Petroskey said in an email to the DRC board of directors. “This time is right for me and my family, and it’s right for the DRC.”

Transition plans

Petroskey said his goal is to have a successor in place for the DRC’s 2026 Annual Meeting on January 27 at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. Petroskey said that the timing of his departure presents the next CEO with the opportunity to take ownership of the process for developing the DRC’s 2027-2029 Strategic Plan.

“Whoever succeeds me will be stepping into one of the most interesting and rewarding jobs in America,” Petroskey said. “I’ll miss being in the middle of the action every day, meeting interesting new people, and connecting good people to other good people who can help one another. That’s the nature of this job and one of the reasons I enjoy it so much.”

The DRC said it has retained executive search firm Russell Reynolds to lead the search for Petroskey’s successor.

“I’ll be running hard every day from now until the end of the year because we still have a lot of important work to do,” Petroskey said. “I want this selection process and the transition to be flawless so that the next CEO can take the DRC to the next level.”

At the DRC’s board meeting this Thursday, July 10, Chair Jim Springfield, who is president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, will propose a selection committee to work with Russell Reynolds. The proposed committee will be composed of past and future board chairs, including Springfield.

“Dale is an exceptional leader who has elevated the Dallas Regional Chamber to new heights,” Springfield said in a statement. “His visionary approach, love of people, and commitment to going above and beyond traditional chamber work have made our region stronger and more competitive. I know I speak for many in our community when I say we will miss his leadership tremendously, but we’re grateful for the strong foundation he’s built and his commitment to a smooth transition process.”

Boosting regional growth and giving

Petroskey became DRC president and CEO on April 1, 2014.

Under his leadership, the chamber’s annual budget has grown by more than 50%, allowing North Texas’ largest and only regional chamber to deploy money back into the community for high-impact initiatives, including $700,000 for the successful “Take Care of Business” campaign to get more people vaccinated against COVID-19; a minimum of $500,000 for the newly launched “Safe in the City” campaign to drive business development through community vibrancy in Dallas’ downtown; and positioning the Dallas Region as a hub for high-potential industries, including life sciences and applied artificial intelligence.

The DRC said its leadership of economic development efforts for the region has seen more than 300 companies choose the region for their headquarters since 2010. Also, during Petroskey’s tenure at the DRC, the number of Fortune 500 companies in Dallas-Fort Worth has grown by 33% and more than 70 Fortune 1000 companies are DRC members.

The DRC said that Petroskey’s approach to establishing it as an “above-and-beyond chamber” culminated in 2022, when the DRC was named the National Chamber of the Year by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives.

Petroskey’s leadership earned him D CEO’s Non-Profit & Corporate Citizenship Leadership Excellence Award in 2024 and induction into Junior Achievement’s Dallas Business Hall of Fame in 2025.

Before joining the DRC, Petroskey had other notable career achievements, including service as assistant White House press secretary to President Ronald Reagan, senior vice president at the National Geographic Society, and president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

“The good news is I still have six months to go, and I’m going to savor every moment,” Petroskey said.

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