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Matthew Mahood (pronounced May-hood) is the President & CEO of what local media call ‘Silicon Valley's flagship business lobby’ The Silicon Valley Organization. The nonprofit business association represents nearly 1,400 member businesses that employ roughly 300,000 employees throughout the region.
Under his leadership since July 2011, The SVO, formerly the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce, has reengineered its scope of work to focus all efforts around regional economic development. Mahood has increased member value and community relevance by becoming a leader in the regional discussions of key issues that impact the business community’s ability to attract and retain a talented workforce while growing their business.
With his leadership, The SVO has become the region’s connector, convener, collaborator and champion on issues that affect business and the community’s prosperity. He has served as the co-chair for both a countywide task force focused on solving the homeless housing crisis and a City of San Jose-focused jobs initiative for at-risk youth called SJ Works. Additionally, with Mahood’s guidance The SVO launched silicon valley IDEA, the evolution of his five-year effort to grow and promote the region. silicon valley IDEA is convening 28-industry groups that represent the region to better understand the common issues facing business. Once identified, a solutions team made up of Silicon Valley’s brightest innovators will tackle the issues and create out-of-the-box solutions, all the while branding and promoting Silicon Valley to the region, nation and world.
No stranger to taking charge, Mahood has also pushed The SVO into the workforce development space, launching strive san jose. strive convenes the education sector, business and government to help create, guide and influence the talent pipeline to ensure a talented workforce that will allow our businesses to continue to innovate and grow. In its first six months, the program launched an internship program that placed 41 local high school students into paid summer internships with 31 SVO businesses, representing 13 industries, and generating $50,000 into the local economy.
Matthew Mahood
Mahood’s extensive background as an executive in business operations spans over three decades in both the for- and non-profit sectors. His career began at United Parcel Service, later joining FedEx, BAX Global and Webvan.com in various management-level positions focused on operations, customer service, sales, human resources, marketing and general management. He previously served as the President & CEO of the Sacramento Metro Chamber for nearly a decade, helping to spearhead the efforts with the Mayor’s office to retain the Kings in Sacramento and being named “Executive of the Year” by the Western Association of Chamber Executives.
Mahood is a California native. He is a member of the Rotary Club of San Jose and serves as an advisory board member for the United Way Bay Area - Silicon Valley Impact & Growth Council. He was a founding director of the California Capital Airshow and the Sacramento Area Regional Technology Alliance. He earned a B.S. in Business Administration – Organizational Communication and Public Relations — from California State University, East Bay.
Read more about Matt in Content Magazine here or in Los Gatos Magazine here. |