Niagara USA Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Kory Schuler will be leaving his post for a new role at Empower WNY.
Schuler has been tapped to serve as Empower’s new director of government affairs and special operations. His duties include educating elected local and state officials on what they do with the special needs community and working on Empower projects at their properties and group homes.
“I’m honored to have served as president and CEO for the last seven years,” said Schuler, who has been affiliated with the chamber for the past 15 years. “With everything else, it’s always time for a change. I’m looking forward to spreading our wings and trying something new.”
The transition will take several weeks, with no set date for his departure.
Schuler joined the chamber in 2010 as its director of government affairs after working in community relations with the New York Power Authority. He said the chamber was right in his wheelhouse in understanding small business needs and helping them navigate through government red tape.
During his time as president and CEO, the chamber was able to help its members get through the COVID-19 pandemic, form its foundation to help small businesses, and has grown its membership to be one of the largest chambers in Western New York.
“What we do is important to the business community,” Schuler said. “I take pride in what we were able to achieve.”
Niagara USA Chamber board member Russell Petrozzi is also the chairman of Empower’s Board Of Directors, with Schuler also serving as a board member there.
“It’s a great opportunity for Kory,” Petrozzi said, noting that whoever replaces him will have big shoes to fill. “Empower is thrilled to have him on board.”
Petrozzi expects the chamber to work on filling Schuler’s role immediately, possibly naming an interim for the time being. He does not know how long the process will take, though it will be a careful search since it is a difficult job to fill, he said.