Duluth chamber's new leader says organization must take lead in pandemic recovery

DULUTH – Even without the ongoing fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, it's not an easy time to start leading the Duluth area's largest business advocacy group.

But Matt Baumgartner has optimism to spare.

"Duluth has more opportunity than maybe any other community in the state," he said. "It's just positioned so well for success, and it has been for a while."

Baumgartner began his tenure as president and CEO of the Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce in late July. He replaces David Ross, who retired after leading the nearly 1,000-member organization since 1997.

Baumgartner is a Duluth native and St. John's University graduate. He most recently was general manager and director of government affairs at Grandma's Restaurant Co. and was the 2020 chairman of the chamber's board of directors. The 37-year-old and his wife have two young children and live in the Lakeside neighborhood.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Q: How is Duluth going to recover from the pandemic, and what's the chamber's role in that?

A: The chamber needs to be the central actor in recovery from the pandemic, and not just the pandemic itself — the public health tragedy that it was — but also all the subsequent and residual effects.

Some of these issues were in the pipeline already — the workforce shortage, challenges around housing and child care. At first blush, they might not seem like chamber issues, but really when you talk to the membership, they are huge issues that deal with getting people back into the workforce and recruiting and retaining employees.

So what are some of the actions that we can take? Being a collaborator and bringing the right voices to the table. Maybe we're going to have some commercial vacancies that could be retrofitted to provide some housing of all types. Could the state provide some money to pull down the cost per square foot and make that more reasonable? The chamber could be the central actor bringing people to that table and then helping solve some of those problems.

Q: What do you see as the opportunities and challenges for work-from-home? It has been rumored to be this big boost for Duluth, but where are people going to live?

A: I think we're going to see a pendulum and watch it kind of swing a little bit. Can we find equilibrium with what that looks like? We've had some really good discussions as a chamber board about what different organizations are doing, and it's been really exciting to hear some of our largest employers talk about a hybrid model. They're respecting the need for child care but then bringing people into the office for a few days in a row.

Duluth has a unique opportunity to recruit remote workers. People want to live in Duluth because we have these wonderful amenities; we're this gateway to the outdoors; we have an adventurous spirit up here and an entrepreneurial spirit up here. But there are some really good-paying jobs in the Twin Cities or in other areas.

It's a good opportunity for Duluth to position itself for what it might look like for the next 50 years and help with that needed population growth, which can provide that needed new tax base growth.

Q: Let's talk about that 50-year outlook. What do you see in terms of diversification, and how is our economy going to move around and grow?

A: I'm starting at the chamber at a really fortunate time. It's an organization that is not in crisis; it has stable financials, and it's an organization that can lean into the unique challenges that we have in this area right now. Diversity, equity and inclusion are a moral imperative for businesses right now. And so over the next 50 years, one of the goals that I hope that the chamber has is that we can show the deep intersection between business profitability and diversifying our workforce and creating an equity of opportunity. That can't just be an initiative for one year; that needs to be carried forward.

I think it's also important for us to look at being a regional hub of activity for things rather than just focusing inward. Our economic silos — whether it's manufacturing, the port, tourism, health care or higher education — they are all natural fits to be regional hubs. So how can we challenge ourselves there to try to think a little bit differently, and make sure that we're getting all the right voices at the table as we look to the future?

Q: So how active will you be in influencing policy? Do you plan to hire a policy director?

A: It's something that I'm passionate about and enjoy being a part of. It will absolutely be a priority of ours.

I plan to work very closely with city administration and elected officials at the county, state and federal level. We have great relationships with all three of our federal elected officials.

I think we have a very engaged group of elected officials locally. We won't always agree and we won't always see eye to eye, but at the end of the day, we should all have the same goal, which is to make Duluth more prosperous for every person who's here.

I feel very fortunate to start from that place and to be able to build on those relationships. It will be at the forefront of what I want to do as a leader of the chamber — work on policy and advocacy.

Q: What are you hearing from the business community — what are their top issues?

A: It might go without saying, but it bears repeating because it's so acutely tied into every conversation: pandemic support and relief. And then it's workforce; it's housing; it's child care; it's also the need for adequate mental health services and support for people experiencing homelessness. Businesses want to help with the issue but don't always know the right way, and there are some safety concerns. So it's trying to connect with leaders who are more experienced in that space to figure out how can the business community help with that.

The other one that comes up constantly is the need for the business community to be a leader on and be a change agent for the equity of opportunity — diversity, equity and inclusion. There have been some wonderful community leaders who I've met with to try to help me strategize on what we can do to have an impact there.

Brooks Johnson • 218-491-6496