Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce officials have announced the chamber has a new management team, one whose leadership is familiar to the organization.
The hired company, Evolve Business Strategies, is a new business venture launched by The Musella Group, which the chamber retained in 2018 to conduct its day-to-day operations.
The public affairs and communications business first began with the chamber in 2017 when owner and former chamber board chair John Musella volunteered his business’ resources.
The purpose in hiring the company a year later was to “manage the chamber’s operations while its board focused on long-term planning for the chamber with the goal of launching those efforts in early 2019,” the chamber said in a news release Monday.
“We are very pleased to have secured The Musella Group’s new entity, Evolve Business Strategies, to manage the chamber’s operations going forward,” said chamber Chairwoman Nancy Starczyk in the release. “They are the most capable and knowledgeable group to successfully lead the chamber.”
Evolve’s leadership will consist of Ivan Volschenk, Musella’s husband, as managing partner and Pete Warda as vice president. Musella will continue his role as president and chief strategist for The Musella Group.
Warda was previously with the Valley Industry and Commerce Association and a member of the California State Senate, bringing research, advocacy and corporate communication skills to Elite. Volschenk spearheaded a successful legal management software company in South Africa before joining as the chief operations officer with The Musella Group, according to his bio on musellagroup.com.
“I am excited to be coming in full force with our team to make sure the chamber prospers into what it is capable of becoming,” said Volschenk.
Evolve officially started with the chamber on Friday, with all resources outsourced to the new company.
