Dallas Regional Chamber names SMU exec Brad Cheves as its next leader

The Dallas Regional Chamber has chosen Brad Cheves, a longtime Southern Methodist University executive who recently led the university through a record-setting, multiyear fundraising round, as its next president and CEO.

His selection comes after Dale Petroskey, a former member of President Ronald Reagan’s communications staff and president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame who has led the group for over a decade, announced in July he would step down at the end of the year for personal reasons.

Cheves, 63, will assume the high-profile business leadership role in early January, the organization told The Dallas Morning News.

“I’m really honored,” Cheves said in an interview. “This was not something I was looking for — it found me, and [in] every conversation I just got more excited about my hometown region and what the opportunities are.”