The Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has named Gabriel Vaca as interim president starting July 1.
Mr. Vaca, who joined the chamber as executive vice president after a 24-year career focused on supply chain and trade at United Parcel Service Inc., will replace Santiago Marquez, who will depart to become executive director of the Latin American Association. Mr. Marquez is to take over for Anibal Torres, who announced his retirement from the LAA this year.
Mr. Vaca has worked with the chamber as a volunteer for more than 15 years and has previously served as chairman of its board of directors.
“We’re fortunate to have Gabriel Vaca already onboard in a leadership role at the chamber and know that under his direction, along with the strong team in place, the GHCC will continue to be a valuable resource for Georgia businesses,” said Ivan Shammas, current GHCC board chair and general manager for Telemundo Atlanta.
Born in Mexico City, Mr. Vaca has a strong interest in international trade, having joined UPS in Miami to work on helping companies grow imports and exports from Latin America. He has also been the GHCC’s key connector with various country-focused chambers in Atlanta, such as the Argentine-American Chamber of Commerce of the Southeast.
While at UPS, Mr. Vaca also was a founding member Crecer, the company’s Latino business resource group.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has struck, the chamber is focused now on providing services remotely to its more than 1,300 members. It’s also helping one out of seven chambers around the country help the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce grow its Avanzar scale-up program for small companies.
“I’m honored to be selected by the executive committee and I want to reassure the GHCC’s members and sponsors that we will have a smooth transition,” Mr. Vaca said in a statement. “The chamber is as strong as it has ever been and we are creating many opportunities for businesses.”
Learn more at https://ghcc.org.
