Luke Bernstein Named to Serve as Next PA Chamber President and CEO

Last week, the PA Chamber Board of Directors unanimously selected Luke Bernstein to serve as the organization’s next president and CEO.  A seasoned financial, government and public policy professional with over 20 years’ experience, Bernstein will assume the position on June 15.  He will succeed outgoing PA Chamber President and CEO Gene Barr, who has led the organization since 2011 and announced his plans for retirement last November.

“The opportunity to lead and work with the Chamber team and serve Pennsylvania businesses is an incredible honor,” Bernstein said in a press release announcing his selection. “I love Pennsylvania. I have devoted the better part of my professional career to serving the Keystone State because I believe it is as essential to our nation today as it was when it was founded. I’m eager to get started and to continue the incredible work done during Gene’s tenure to accelerate our post-pandemic recovery with a focus on attracting and retaining both world-class employers and skilled employees, which are vital to creating the competitive and thriving economy we know the Commonwealth can, should, and will be.”

Bernstein most recently served as executive vice president and chief operations and technology officer at Orrstown Financial Services, where he had been employed and served as corporate spokesperson since 2017.  Prior to his tenure at Orrstown, he served as senior vice president of external affairs at the Pennsylvania Bankers Association and as a deputy chief of staff for former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett.  In addition to his executive leadership roles in the private sector and state government, Bernstein also has experience working at the federal level, previously serving as an appointed advisor in former President George W. Bush’s administration and as an aide in the U.S. Senate.

“I couldn’t be more pleased to see Luke named as my successor, and he has my utmost support,” Barr said in the press release. “With his diversified experience in the public and private sectors, he knows how to effect the change needed to drive our economy forward. I know that with the support of the entire Chamber team and its membership, Luke will boldly lead the Commonwealth’s business community into its next successful chapter.”

Bernstein’s appointment is the culmination of a five-month search conducted by a seven-person committee comprised of representatives from member businesses across the Commonwealth. The search committee was led by PA Chamber Board of Directors Chair Nicholas Bertram, who also serves as president of The GIANT Company, and Vice Chair Brion Lieberman, who is chief human resources officer at Geisinger. Executive search firm SpencerStuart assisted with the search.

Additional information on this exciting new chapter for the PA Chamber can be found here.

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Founded in 1916, the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry is the state's largest broad-based business association, with its membership comprising businesses of all sizes and across all industry sectors. The PA Chamber is The Statewide Voice of BusinessTM.