Biz journal publisher named chamber CEO

John McDonagh, publisher and co-owner of the Vancouver Business Journal, has been appointed president and chief executive officer of the Greater Vancouver Chamber of Commerce in Washington state, reports Gordon Oliver of The Columbian.

Oliver writes, “McDonagh worked nearly 26 years for The Columbian, including 13 as vice president for marketing and advertising, before leaving in 2001 to help launch the Portland Tribune. In 2004 he and his brother Steve McDonagh bought the weekly Vancouver Business Journal with a small group of investors.

“McDonagh said he was approached last year to apply for the CEO job but told the chamber he wasn’t interested. The chamber’s board then asked if he would serve in an interim capacity. He said he only became interested in recent weeks after the board had interviewed three finalists. Among those finalists, ‘nobody bubbled to the top,’ said Eric Olmsted, chairman of the chamber’s board.

“McDonagh said his brother will assume more leadership at the newspaper while he pulls back to an ‘oversight’ role. Because he functions neither as an editor or reporter, he said he sees no conflict between his roles as a business promoter and part-owner of a business newspaper.”

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