Bryan Starr is president and CEO of the Greater Irvine Chamber of Commerce, one of the largest chambers in California, overseeing economic development, and tourism for the organization as well as the Irvine Chamber Education Foundation. Under Starr’s leadership, the Chamber has earned numerous honors, including a Five-Star Accreditation, the highest rating awarded by the United States Chamber of Commerce. Starr serves on the Chamber of Commerce Committee of 100, a group of chamber executives that represents their members to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce; the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives Major Cities Council; and the Board of Directors of Los Angeles Chargers player Melvin Gordon’s Beyond the Flash Foundation, which provides economically challenged students with educational opportunities and resources to succeed. Previously, Starr served as senior vice president to Orange County Business Council (OCBC), overseeing external affairs and serving as the lead advocate for the business community in Orange County. Prior to OCBC, he served as CEO of the Building Industry Association (BIA) of Southern California, Orange County Chapter. There, he directed the largest BIA chapter in California, focusing his team’s efforts primarily on issue advocacy related to commercial and residential development, as well as economic and construction industry workforce development. Starr began his association management career with the Associated Builders and Contractors of Southern California as director of government affairs in 2004. Prior to his work on behalf of the private sector, Starr was appointed as a junior staff member to the Committee on Ways and Means, United States House of Representatives. He returned from Washington, D.C. to work on numerous state-wide political campaigns including gubernatorial and senate races. He also worked as director of public affairs for a Newport Beach-based public affairs consulting firm, where he developed strategies for clients on issues ranging from municipal franchise contracts to land development and redevelopment projects, as well as having lent himself to several local political campaigns. Starr has served on numerous public boards including Orange County Council of Governments, OC Waste and Recycling, the City of Irvine’s Green Ribbon Commission and was a founding board member and past president of the Irvine Community Land Trust, an organization that provides permanent affordable housing to low income families. His opinions on Irvine as an economic powerhouse, political strategy, issue advocacy, and association management have been published in major news outlets such as the CNN Money, Business Insider, Los Angeles Times, Orange County Register, California Real Estate Journal, Orange County Business Journal, and several independent industry specific trade publications. Starr received his Bachelor of Arts in political science, with honors, from San Diego State University, and served in the United States Coast Guard.
