Rodriguez named deputy city manager

SAN ANTONIO - A.J. Rodriguez has resigned from his position as president and CEO of the San Antonio Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and will assume new responsibilities as deputy city manager of San Antonio.

Chamber of commerce chairman of the board Fernando Reyes expressed his encouragement for Rodriguez, who has served as the president and CEO of the Hispanic chamber for four years.

“A.J. has been an incredible asset to the Hispanic chamber, and he will continue to be instrumental in shaping our community in his new role with the city of San Antonio,” Reyes said. “He has worked with our board of directors to take the organization to unprecedented levels of success by achieving a 50-plus percent increase in total membership during his tenure as well as establishing a reserve fund to ensure a solid financial position for the organization for many years to come. Without a doubt, he will be leaving the organization in a better position than when he first took the helm.”

Chairman-elect Rolando Pablos commented on Rodriguez’s appointment as a testament to the Hispanic chamber’s ability to consistently develop its people for a variety of important leadership positions throughout the city. He said, “We will miss A.J. but also believe we can count on him as another resource and champion of San Antonio businesses as he assumes his new duties as deputy city manager. I am very proud of him, and I am very proud our city would choose a professional like A.J. for this important position.”

Rodriguez joined the Hispanic chamber in June 2004 following a nationwide search and after communicating his plan to establish a 20-year vision for the organization, five-year goals and an annual operating plan with measurable results. Rodriguez said the chamber’s recent milestone of surpassing the 1,000 membership mark is the goal he was most interested in seeing achieved.

“It was the culmination and evidence that all the changes we had made worked. By pursuing a clear mission, implementing organizational structure, putting the right team together and working with the board to implement policies and activities that made good business sense, we became a success.”

An indication of the chamber’s succ e s s , the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce recently named the San Antonio chamber one of the top three Hispanic chambers of commerce in the country.

“I feel so fortunate and honored to have been part of such a great team, and I look forward to doing my part as a member of another great team,” Rodriguez said.