Max Daffron enjoying new role as Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce CEO
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Max Daffron remembers his Super Bowl Sundays growing up in Huntington Beach as busy.
Before watching football, he and his family would spend time downtown at the Surf City Marathon. That was where his father John’s local surf-rock band, the Fabulous Nomads, would play.
John Daffron, who taught at Newport Heights Elementary School in Newport Beach for nearly 30 years, now lives in Idaho.
But Max Daffron finds himself back in his hometown and ready to get to work. He started as the president and chief executive of the Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce in November.
“Economic development is really my passion, and working with the business community,” said Max Daffron, 35. “I want to help the Chamber and our business community, truly the economic vitality of my hometown.”
Daffron attended Newland Elementary, Talbert Middle School and Edison High School, graduating in 2009. He has a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and a master’s in public administration from the University of Arizona.
He worked in the city of Huntington Beach’s economic development office for a few years, before moving to Colorado when his wife, Ashley, accepted a job there.
In his nearly seven years in Colorado, Daffron said he started two economic development departments from scratch, one with Adams County and one with the small town of Frederick. But when the Huntington Beach Chamber of Commerce hired a consulting firm to hire its next chief executive, Daffron’s name came up.
Shawn Wood, chairman of the local chamber’s board who previously served as interim chief executive, said that Daffron checked a lot of boxes as a passionate local with previous experience working for the city.
“If you want to grow your business in Huntington Beach, if you have concerns about your business in Huntington Beach, Max is a great sounding board to sit down and have coffee with or do a one-to-one,” Wood said. “He has that economic development knowledge. I think he gets it; he knows our goals that we’re trying to achieve and accomplish.”
Wood said Daffron is the first chief executive Surf City’s chamber has had in about seven years.
“We had been talking about this for years, but to get to this point, you need full board approval and you need executive board approval,” Wood said. “I think we finally had enough funds in our reserve to do it, and do it right.”
The Daffrons, who have two young children, were happy to move back to Huntington Beach, where Max’s mother Lynn Schaert is a longtime resident. Ashley is a professor of pharmacy practice at Chapman University.
As far as his employment goes, Max Daffron did not exactly ease into the position; in his first week on the job he hosted the annual State of the City address.
He said the Chamber of Commerce is currently in an assessment phase, looking at what businesses are actually coming to events and participating. The organization also recently launched its Huntington Beach Legacy Business recognition program, with Fred’s Mexican Cafe as the first recipient.
Daffron called the Chamber an umbrella of advocacy for the business community. It works with partners like the Downtown Business Improvement District and tourism agency Visit Huntington Beach, which also has new leadership in president and chief executive John Urdi.
“It does not matter if you’re a business downtown, or if you’re a hotel, or if you’re a new business that’s working with the city to get your doors open,” Daffron said. “Any and all of those businesses are eligible to be members of the Chamber of Commerce, and we are here to advocate on their behalf should they have issues.”
Wood said Daffron has hit the ground running.
“I don’t think there’s been one curveball that Max has had where he doesn’t answer it with confidence,” he said. “He’s patient, he doesn’t rush into making a decision, and I know he gets it. He gets what we need, and I think when you look at this chamber a year or two from now, you’re going to see a completely different, well-oiled machine chamber.”
