Mountain View Chamber of Commerce selects seasoned Bay Area leader, Peter Katz, as new CEO

Fourth-generation native Peter Katz, a growth specialist for startups and non-profits, to become President and CEO for the Mountain View Chamber in December

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA (December 10, 2019) – The Mountain View Chamber of Commerce announced today that Peter Katz, a veteran of some of the world’s best known high tech firms as well as several non-profits, will take over as President and CEO on December 10, 2019. A fourth-generation Bay Area native and resident, Katz’s background encompasses 20+ years in commercial businesses, 10+ years with non-profits, and several years with educational institutions.

“We value the high quality of life here in Mountain View, and the chamber exists to empower, support and protect our vibrant businesses for the benefit of the entire community,” said Kathy Thibodeaux, Board Chair for the Mountain View Chamber. “Peter’s experience in both the for-profit and non-profit worlds will help foster partnerships, increase diversity and innovation in the business community, and elevate our overall prosperity.”

Prior to joining the Chamber, Katz was consulting with startups on go-to-market strategies, as well as on education and social equity for the California Community Colleges, helping them marry school and career success through engagements with local employers. For five-and-a-half years before that, he was the founding Executive Director for Genesys Works – Bay Area, a national non-profit that helps low-income high school seniors pursue a college and career track through tech training and meaningful internships.

In the corporate world, he has spent most of his career bringing leading-edge products and ideas into everyday life at some of the world’s most innovative and influential organizations in consumer technology, e-learning and education, and kids markets. With an emphasis on strategic and rapid growth, he has held leadership roles at established companies such as Xerox and Apple, as well as several Internet-based startups including Excite, Inktomi, and SurfMonkey.com – one of the first web browsers for kids.

“Mountain View is a wildly creative, highly diverse, and truly unique place to live and work,” says Katz. “I am excited and honored to be a part of an organization that embraces the value of bringing together all aspects of the city – commercial, social, educational and political – and is expressly committed to helping them engage and thrive.”

Katz earned his BA in History from the University of California at Berkeley, and his MBA in International Management from Golden Gate University. He is also currently on the South Bay Advisory Board for 10,000 Degrees, a Bay Area non-profit that helps students from low-income backgrounds get to and through college with financial aid and the support of near-peer mentors.