When the Boston Business Journal recently released its list of the largest chambers of commerce in Massachusetts, the Charles River Regional Chamber had climbed to fourth place, following those in Worcester and two on the South Shore. It’s a reflection of the economic vitality of the area, said chamber president and CEO Greg Reibman.
“We have a really great region, being just west of Boston. So we’re naturally successful by virtue of the communities we’re in,” he said. Those communities are Needham, Newton, Watertown and Wellesley, which came together as a regional chamber in 2021. Charles River is independent and not affiliated with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce because the national chamber takes broad national policy positions, said Reibman. His focus is on advocating for issues that affect the more than 1,100 local businesses and nonprofit organizations in the towns the chamber represents.
“The reason why it is important for us to be a large chamber is because we wanted to make sure that the western suburbs have a voice on Beacon Hill,” he said. “Because there is generally a perception that our communities have lots of money and lots of resources and we don’t need anything.”
Reibman said the biggest needs relate to hiring and retaining workers. “For our employers almost everybody says their biggest challenge is hiring workers, and they understand that is directly connected to the challenges of housing and the challenges of being able to get people here because our transportation system is not functioning as well as it needs to.”
Housing and transportation — along with the environment, workforce and childcare, and diversity, equity and inclusion — are among the priorities set by the chamber’s board. “Generally speaking I think our members are aligned with that,” Reibman said. “There’s always the occasional member who might be unhappy that we take a position perhaps about a housing project. The environmental issues are really tricky because we recognize our need to wean ourselves off fossil fuels, adopt more sustainable measures, but that can really be difficult for a building property owner to adapt. So we really try to make sure that we’re advocating for both sides of that issue.”
In his advocacy role Reibman is often an outspoken critic of the Legislature. “I’ve had some interesting conversations with some of our various elected representatives,” he said. “But on the other hand, they also recognize we’re doing our job advocating for our businesses, and they have their own unique challenges trying to get things done,” he said.
“One of the great things about my job is I don’t have to run for reelection,” said Reibman. “So if I take an unpopular position but I believe it’s the right one, the board has been very supportive of that and I feel that’s OK.”
Editor’s note: The Needham Observer is a chamber member
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