Silicon Valley Leadership Group names former Feinstein aide as CEO
Silicon Valley Leadership Group, the region’s major business group, has named Ahmad Thomas as its new CEO.
Thomas, a former Barclays executive and aide to Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., replaces longtime CEO Carl Guardino. Thomas starts Aug. 10.
“Our community has always had serious issues to tackle, but with unprecedented economic challenges brought on by a once-in-a-lifetime global pandemic and reckoning with systemic racism, we need to lead with industry-wide initiatives that drive both the national dialogue and bring about real, measurable change,” Thomas said in a statement.
Thomas said in an online press conference that he is focused on inclusion and diversity, including boosting opportunities for Black and brown job candidates, particularly at the executive level. Another priority is investment in public infrastructure. The Leadership Group has focused on measures to boost transit and affordable housing. Thomas also called for “immediate impact” to help mitigate the devastation caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The group has 360 business members, including the region’s biggest tech companies including Apple, Facebook and Google, as well as companies like Microsoft which are significant employers in the area.
Kim Polese, chair of investment firm CrowdSmart and a member of the search committee, said at the press conference that Thomas’s vision for the future of the group made him stand out among candidates. She said it was also “meaningful and important” that Thomas is African American as businesses grapple with racial disparities, particularly in executive ranks.
“Ahmad showed a keen understanding of complex subjects, insight that has only grown over the years,” Feinstein said in a statement. “Ahmad’s practical understanding of how businesses interact with the community will be invaluable as he carries on the work of Carl Guardino, who made transportation, housing and career development cornerstone issues for the SVLG.”
While serving in Feinstein’s office, Thomas was a liaison between California and the Treasury Department during the 2008 financial crisis, according to the Bond Buyer newspaper. He joined Barclays in 2010 and co-led California municipal coverage.
Thomas lives in Menlo Park with his wife, Dr. Reena Thomas, a neurologist at Stanford Hospital, and their two sons.
https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Silicon-Valley-Leadership-Group-names-former-15429868.php