Shop Talk: Q&A With Jim Bellina, Greater Gardner Chamber
Photo/Christina H. Davis
Jim Bellina, President & CEO, Greater Gardner Chamber of Commerce
Jim Bellina, the new president and CEO of the Greater Gardner Chamber of Commerce, has an outsider’s view of the region he now calls home. A native of Newark, N.J., Bellina is a recent transplant to Worcester. He moved north when his wife was transferred by her employer, the Worcester-based Hanover Insurance Group, but he’s quickly fallen in love with Central Massachusetts. He brings a wealth of executive experience to his new post. After serving as a naval officer, he learned the ropes of the marketing at Johnson & Johnson in New Brunswick, N.J., eventually becoming a brand manager. Later, he ran the American operations of an international imaging company. Here, he talks about why the job at the chamber made sense for him as well as the importance of brands.
>> What made this opportunity at the chamber a good one for you?
Given my experience, which includes having watched my father run a small business for many years, I have a pretty good feel for what it takes to run a small business. I understand the problems that businesses face. In a lot of ways, I can be a resource and an advocate. It’s kind of like the perfect fit. When I’ve told some of my friends what I was doing they said, “What took you so long? This is exactly what you should be doing.”
>> How did the Gardner Chamber find you or how did you find them?
They’ve had a search going on for a while that I was not aware of. I believe I saw the job ad online or in a local newspaper, and I looked at it and I said, “You know, this kind of makes sense.” My wife and I were talking about selling the house in New Jersey and buying a house up here. Everything just kind of tumbled into place at the right time. It was as simple as sending in my résumé and getting into the interviewing process and finding a good fit.
>> Are there particular goals that you have in mind?
One of the specific goals I have is to communicate more and let people know what the chamber is doing for them and what it can do for them. And there’s a lot to communicate. My approach has been to get the information, present it to the key people, get the buy-in and move forward. I intend to approach it as I would any business. The chamber has to show leadership and the first step in leadership is communication and enthusiasm.
>> You definitely seem to approach the chamber from a marketer’s perspective.
You have to have that first. If you think about it, a chamber provides a service and people need to know about the service. The more they know and understand, the more willing they (the public and the business community) will be to put their trust in the chamber. I don’t see us as selling a product, but I do see us as having an image that has to be reinforced.
>> Are there particular lessons that you learned from working for Johnson & Johnson that stick out to you?
I think branding is critical. In a company like J&J every marketer knew branding inside out. If you’re lucky enough to have a brand, your cost, your effort to reinforce the good stuff about that, is a little bit lower than if you have to build a brand from nothing. Branding is critical to every business, whether it’s a chamber or a pizza shop or a manufacturer. And a brand doesn’t have to be a brand name.
WEB ONLY>> What's been the toughest lesson you've had to learn as a manager?
That people don't always have the same motivations. My motivation is to get the job done and do it as efficiently as possible. It was tough for me to realize that not everybody always thinks that way. As you progress with that, I think you realize that the real essence of leadership is to get those people who don't have the same approach that you do to get done what has to get done.
>> What would you say the brand of the Greater Gardner is today and what would you like it to be in the future?
I think the chamber is in the back of everybody’s mind as a positive, but if you ask them, they’re going to have to stop and think. What I’d like to do is get them to the point where they don’t have to stop and think. Where they think of the chamber, and immediately think of the news that they heard about the new member, the presentation that the chamber’s putting on, or the presence that the chamber had at a local function. I want to move it from back-of-mind positive predisposition to top-of-mind positive thoughts.
Watch as Jim Bellina discuses what he most enjoys about his job:
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