Q & A with Carlsbad Chamber CEO, Bret Schanzenbach!
Primary Funding was proud to join the Carlsbad Chamber last month. If you would like to learn more about the Carlsbad Chamber then keep reading!
Hi Bret, thank you for taking the time to visit with us today! Just so our readers can get to know you better, can you please tell us a little about yourself and how you became CEO of the Carlsbad Chamber?
I first got involved in my local chamber when I was a residential realtor here in North County. I joined a committee, volunteered for different things, and was then invited to be on the Board of Directors. While I was serving as Chairman of the Board of that chamber, the current Executive decided to move back to the Midwest as a pre-retirement move. That was 2008. Real Estate wasn’t much fun back then with the deep recession going on and everything being a short sale and foreclosure. So, I thought it might be time to try something new. My first year I worked part time as a Business Development staff member while still working my real estate business. I was named CEO my second year and I stayed another 9 years at that chamber. I was hired as the Carlsbad Chamber CEO in January, 2019 after Ted Owen retired. Ted had held this role for 15 years. It has been a great opportunity for me.
Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business is a Success!
Recently, we had the opportunity to sit down with our client, Ron Brown, who is the CEO of Global Executive Security. Here is our Q & A with him…
First of all, Ron, thank you for your service to our country! After retiring from the military, you started Global Executive Security. How did that come about?
Earlier in my career as a California Peace Officer, I developed two California POST specialized tactical training courses. I was then assigned to several VIP security and protection details, which led me to make the decision to start my own security business. Global Executive Security or “GES” is a California Corporation, licensed since 2000. We are a security service provider in private security, executive protection, estate protection, specialized transit systems, training and consulting.
Meet Our CEO, Jason Severson
TELL US ABOUT YOUR JOB. WHAT IS IT LIKE WORKING AT PFC?
My job has evolved a lot since I took over the reins from Pat Burns back in 2013. For several years I was pretty heavily involved in every aspect of the day-to-day operations as well as sales. Over the years we have been fortunate to add really good people to the team. That has led me to a new role of Chief Assistant. I am here to support the team and make sure everyone has what they need to succeed in their role. This works really well when you have a team of great people that care about the Company and enjoy and respect each other. I feel very fortunate to have the team that we have. I believe that everything starts and ends with company culture. We take that seriously at PFC. We live by a set of values and guiding principles that are more important than any individual. The key is to hire people that believe in these values already, it can’t be something that a person has to work hard to adopt when they get here. And because our team has a shared set of values, it makes working at PFC a lot of fun! We are a family and I truly enjoy every person at PFC. We have monthly company meetings and they sometimes get pretty lively. Kind of like a family sitting around the dinner table telling stories and giving each other a hard time and joke back and forth. We have a good time! I have to admit though, I do have a favorite employee. 😊
