Deadwyler named NCC chamber interim president

WILMINGTON – Yvonne Deadwyler, the vice president of the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce, has been named the chamber’s interim president following the retirement of her predecessor.

Yvonne Deadwyler was named interim president of the New Castle County Chamber of Commerce. | PHOTO COURTESY OF NCCCC

Bob Chadwick stepped down from the leadership role after more than five years on Dec. 31, and the chamber’s board of directors turned to its second highest leader, according to Chamber Chair Pam Scott.

“Yvonne currently holds the position of vice president of the chamber and is very knowledgeable of the chamber’s operations and the work of chamber staff. Serving in this new role will be a seamless transition for the chamber and its members, and we are excited to support Yvonne in this new role,” she said in a statement announcing the move Friday.

After joining the chamber staff in 2019, Deadwyler was named vice president in April and has overseen the chamber’s member relations team, which included events, membership, member retention, marketing, and communications. Her move to interim president will run for at least three months, at which point the board will reassess, she told Delaware Business Times.

“It was a nice compliment that the board recognized the work that we’ve been doing,” she said.

If history is any indication – Chadwick also began his tenure as president as an interim replacement before earning the full title – Deadwyler could lead the state’s third largest chamber by number of members into the future.

She has already seen the evolution of chamber operations through and after the COVID pandemic.

“With COVID, it has been an evolution of what we can provide differently for our members. Whether it’s resources, business education, or highlighting business leaders in our community, we’ve had to reflect on what the county really represents,” she said.

In attending ribbon cuttings, networking events and more around the county, Deadwyler said that she hears from members of the need for the chamber to be an information gatherer, an advocate and a mouthpiece for the businesses of Delaware’s most populous county.

“Whether you’re a startup or entrepreneur looking for funding opportunities or an established business looking for workers or connections, we want to do what we can to connect the dots and keep the local economy thriving,” she said.