Pasadena’s Chamber of Commerce President & CEO  

John Krikorian, Publisher, Business Life Magazine had the opportunity to interview, Paul Little, as he assumed his new duties as President, and CEO of the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce.  He was coming on at the time of the Tournament of Roses, Rose Parade and the Rose Bowl New Years Events in Pasadena.

John Krikorian (JK): Tell our readers how the transition has been and what were you doing prior to accepting this new executive role?
Paul Little (PL): It’s been very interesting, it’s been very quick because the whole proposition popped up a few months ago.  I was working for the past three years with a company called VMA Communications, which is a public relations communications consulting company in Claremont, in all manners of communication.

JK: You were also an elected member of the Pasadena City Council?
PL:  I was elected to the Pasadena City Council in 1995 and served until 2007.

JK: Where do you see as your challenges for the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce?
PL: It’s a member service organization, so the biggest challenge is always providing the service that the members need in a lot of different areas, such as networking events to the Inaugural Gala,  the Business Showcase and the Tournament of Roses President’s Breakfast, Rose Bowl Fanfest and all the activities of the world famous Rose Parade.. Obviously it is to support the prosperity of the members along with growing membership.. The chamber represents everything from huge multinational corporations to the one person small businesses. The nice part is that you can hear from people who are impacted by certain trends early on and hopefully anticipate what may be coming for the other members as well.

JK: You mentioned real estate, and Pasadena has quite a bit of building going on, such as housing, apartments, condos. How do you see that impacting the chamber?
PL: What everyone is going to do for a while is watch to see what impact the current real estate financial situation has on future development. The real estate market in Pasadena from my understanding is still pretty healthy, the difference in what they’re saying to the east of us is there are empty houses and the prices are plummeting, However in Pasadena the prices have remained steady, the big difference is what took six weeks to sell now takes six months.

JK: Old Pasadena going to be facing new competition from different sectors, such as in Glendale the coming of Caruso’s Americana on Brand, which is getting ready to open in May, which is somewhat similar to the Grove in Los Angeles, and also Caruso’s plans for Arcadia’s Santa Anita.
PL: They are recreating a dignified version of the Old Pasadena experience, although if it’s like the Grove the enterprises in Glendale and Arcadia will be more entertainment oriented and not retail. Old Pasadena had a very competitive edge for a long time because of the experience that’s created there. Internally, they need to work very hard to make sure that they maintain the atmosphere because they are going to have more competition, some competition from Glendale as you said. There’s  increased competition from Arcadia because they keep expanding the mall out there now. They have movie theatres and they have their own restaurant area, along with new expansion.

JK: The Pasadena chamber is located on  South Lake, which has gone through transition, new retailing, restaurants and shopping places. Also, the Playhouse District and Hastings Ranch, how do you see all those pieces working together?
PL: The chamber has had the support of the staff of the Playhouse district in Pasadena. Steve Mulheim is the CEO of Old Pasadena Management, and the South Lake Business Association folks are now hiring a new director. We all recognize that there is a synergy created by both the chamber and each other, and we’ve collaborated, communicated to what may be solutions to challenges that each faces. In closing: “The Chamber’s Mission is: To be an effective economic and political force for our membership.” That we are!

Contact: Pasadena Chamber of Commerce & Civic Association, , 865 E. Del Mar Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91101,  626-795-3355 • 626-795-5603 FX, www.pasadena-chamber.org