Conejo Valley Chamber Selects Former Editor as Interim Executive Director

The Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce has appointed Terry Greenberg, former editor and business manager of the Thousand Oaks Star and News Chronicle, as its interim executive director.

Greenberg will fill the post while the board of directors searches for a permanent replacement for Steve Rubenstein, who stepped down last week. The chamber expects to hire a new executive director by the end of summer.

A well-known figure in Conejo Valley, Greenberg recently moved back to Thousand Oaks after leaving his job as managing editor of the San Mateo Times, according to employees at the paper. The Alameda Newspaper Group, which owns the Oakland Tribune, recently bought the mid-size newspaper and brought in new management, the employees said.

Before resigning in 1994, Greenberg directed the Thousand Oaks paper for nearly four years. He could not be reached for comment Thursday but said in a press release that he was planning to meet with local officials and business leaders, and was seeking input from the chamber’s 1,200 members.

“Over the next few weeks both the board and myself will be reviewing the chamber’s operations from top to bottom to see how we can better serve our members and the business community,” Greenberg said in the release. “We may need to refocus our activities.”

Judy St. John, chairwoman of the chamber board, said Greenberg was chosen as interim executive director because of his diverse experience and strong local connections. She said Greenberg will also be considered for the permanent job.

“He does have a familiarity with the community and very good public relations skills,” she said. “And he also has good business skills from managing a newspaper, which should help him manage the chamber.”

Rubenstein resigned April 29 after 14 years as executive director. Saying he needed a change, Rubenstein decided to take a position with his brother’s Glendale-based property management firm.

City Manager Grant Brimhall said Greenberg, with his journalistic experience dealing with numerous government institutions and businesses, should make a good chamber director, for the meantime at least.

“I think Terry has worked in the community and knows it well,” Brimhall said. “Certainly, he understands the dynamics of this place, and understands the role of the media in providing information. He’s very bright, yet very approachable. He’ll do a good job.”