Full Name
Sherry Menor-McNamara
Job Title
President & CEO
Company
Chamber of Commerce Hawaii
Speaker Bio
Sherry Menor-McNamara was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the Chamber of Commerce Hawaii on September 1, 2013. She is the youngest and first female President and CEO in the Chamber’s 170-year history, as well as the first Asian to serve as the leader of a State Chamber.
She previously served as the organization’s Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President of Government Affairs. She joined the Chamber as Director of Business Advocacy in 2006 and was promoted to Vice President of Business Advocacy and Government Affairs in 2007.
She has lived in several major cities, including Tokyo, New York, Washington D.C., Los Angeles and London, working for a wide variety of companies, including: Sony Corporation, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Estee Lauder Company, Field Group, Elton John Production and “60 Minutes” news magazine show. Her government-related work includes positions with the Hawaii State Legislature, U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka and the Executive Office of the United States President.
She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, Board of Trustees of the JAIMS Foundation, Executive Committee and Board of Directors for Move Oahu Forward, and Advisory Council of the Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders. Nationally, she serves on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Council of State Chambers (COSC), the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE), and Western Association of Chamber Executives (WACE), as well as on the U.S. Chamber’s Committee of 100. Under her leadership, the Chamber won the 2018 ACCE State Chamber of the Year, and in 2019, won two national Council of State Chambers awards.
She is a 2016 graduate of the Omidyar Fellows Leadership Program, founded by eBay’s Pierre Omidyar. She was honored with the Public Schools of Hawaii Foundation Award and, in 2015, was selected to represent the United States in the Korea Foundation’s Program for Distinguished Individuals in Economy. In 2014, she was recognized as one of the “Top 10 People to Watch” by Pacific Business News. In 2012, she was named one of the “Top 20 People to Watch” by Hawaii Business magazine. Menor-McNamara was also inducted as a Laureate into the 2014 Class of the Junior Achievement of Hawaii Hall of Fame. Additionally, in 2014, she was selected and participated in the prestigious Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs leadership program.
Menor-McNamara earned a certificate in “Expanding Impact in Advocacy” from the Harvard Kennedy School of Executive Education. She received her juris doctorate degree from the University of Hawaii’s William S. Richardson School of Law and her Master of Business Administration from UH’s Shidler College of Business. She also pursued graduate study in public administration at the University of Southern California (USC) and holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).
Menor-McNamara was born in Tokyo, Japan, and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, where she graduated from Waiakea High School. She is married to John McNamara, president of CommPac, a Honolulu-based public relations agency. She is a certified yoga teacher and enjoys golfing, traveling and spending time with her husband and dog, Kuma-chan.
She previously served as the organization’s Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President of Government Affairs. She joined the Chamber as Director of Business Advocacy in 2006 and was promoted to Vice President of Business Advocacy and Government Affairs in 2007.
She has lived in several major cities, including Tokyo, New York, Washington D.C., Los Angeles and London, working for a wide variety of companies, including: Sony Corporation, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Estee Lauder Company, Field Group, Elton John Production and “60 Minutes” news magazine show. Her government-related work includes positions with the Hawaii State Legislature, U.S. Senator Daniel Akaka and the Executive Office of the United States President.
She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, Board of Trustees of the JAIMS Foundation, Executive Committee and Board of Directors for Move Oahu Forward, and Advisory Council of the Center for Tomorrow’s Leaders. Nationally, she serves on the Board of Directors of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Council of State Chambers (COSC), the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE), and Western Association of Chamber Executives (WACE), as well as on the U.S. Chamber’s Committee of 100. Under her leadership, the Chamber won the 2018 ACCE State Chamber of the Year, and in 2019, won two national Council of State Chambers awards.
She is a 2016 graduate of the Omidyar Fellows Leadership Program, founded by eBay’s Pierre Omidyar. She was honored with the Public Schools of Hawaii Foundation Award and, in 2015, was selected to represent the United States in the Korea Foundation’s Program for Distinguished Individuals in Economy. In 2014, she was recognized as one of the “Top 10 People to Watch” by Pacific Business News. In 2012, she was named one of the “Top 20 People to Watch” by Hawaii Business magazine. Menor-McNamara was also inducted as a Laureate into the 2014 Class of the Junior Achievement of Hawaii Hall of Fame. Additionally, in 2014, she was selected and participated in the prestigious Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs leadership program.
Menor-McNamara earned a certificate in “Expanding Impact in Advocacy” from the Harvard Kennedy School of Executive Education. She received her juris doctorate degree from the University of Hawaii’s William S. Richardson School of Law and her Master of Business Administration from UH’s Shidler College of Business. She also pursued graduate study in public administration at the University of Southern California (USC) and holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA).
Menor-McNamara was born in Tokyo, Japan, and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, where she graduated from Waiakea High School. She is married to John McNamara, president of CommPac, a Honolulu-based public relations agency. She is a certified yoga teacher and enjoys golfing, traveling and spending time with her husband and dog, Kuma-chan.
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