Chesterfield Commerce Chief Quits After Six Months

The new executive director of Chesterfield Chamber of Commerce resigned the post Tuesday, effective immediately, according to an announcement by the board of directors.

There was no explanation of why Robey Taylor quit, after a four-month long search to hire him following the death of Joanie Schmelig who served as Chamber leader for 30 years.

Taylor's hire was announced in December by Don Meyer, then-chairman of the Chamber board.

At the time, Meyer said this about Taylor:

"We are excited to have Robey on board to continue to grow and expand the many great programs."

Meyer said a search committee and a "diverse group of business leaders" provided input on the hiring of Taylor. Meyer said there was an "excellent slate" of candidates for the post.

However, on Tuesday, the Chamber's board sent out this email: 

The Board of Directors regrets to announce the resignation of Robey Taylor as Executive Director, effective today. We thank Robey for the work he has done for the Chamber and we wish him the best in his future endeavors.

Jack Hoffmann will be filling in as Business Manager as we start the search for a new Executive Director.

Taylor has been in commercial real estate and part of the Chesterfield Chamber—both a past board chairman and board director. He was a property manager for Sachs Properties up until June 2011.

Taylor was also general manager with The Richard E. Jacobs Group at , according to LinkedIn, and graduated from Purdue and Fontbonne universities with an MBA.

Here's what Taylor said on his hiring by the Chamber, at the time:

"I am looking forward to both expanding our current member relationships and to starting new relationships," Taylor said. "I look forward to assisting our members with helping them grow their companies, while also growing the Chesterfield business community.”

The Chamber of Commerce and Chesterfield City government historically have had a very close working relationship.