USC Marshall School of Business

Gary L. Toebben oversees the workings of the Chamber, ensuring that the organization champions initiatives contributing to the economic prosperity and quality of life of the businesses and citizens of Los Angeles. Since taking the helm of the Chamber in July 2006, Toebben has been a tireless advocate for the business community. Toebben has served on the Mayor's L.A. Economy & Jobs Committee, the L.A. County Health Care Options Task Force and the City Council's Business Retention & Attraction Task Force. He has championed local and state ballot initiatives on transportation and economic development and represented the Chamber as one of four co-sponsors of Proposition 11 to create a citizen commission to redistrict California after each census. He is highly involved in statewide business groups including the CalChamber and a coalition of regional economic development associations spanning the entire state. Each year, Toebben co-leads the region's largest consensus advocacy trip to Washington, D.C.

Prior to joining the L.A. Area Chamber, Toebben served as President of the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce for nearly a decade. Toebben began his chamber career in 1975 at the North Platte, Nebraska Chamber of Commerce, and from 1981 to 1999 he served as President of the Lawrence, Kansas Chamber of Commerce.

Toebben has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE) in 2003 and is currently a member of the ACCE Board of Trustees. He is a graduate of the Center for Creative Leadership in Greensboro, North Carolina; Institute for Organization Management at the University of Colorado and the Academy for Organization management at Notre Dame University. Toebben is a past Chairman of the Board of Regents for the University of Colorado Institute for Organization Management, the Kansas Chamber of Commerce Executives, the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce Executives, the Kansas Industrial Developers Assn, the Western Nebraska United Chambers of Commerce and the Nebraska State Tourism Advisory Board.

Toebben holds a B.S. in mathematics from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. He and his wife Janice, who is a vice president with US Bank, have four children ages 30-35 years old.