Since Bob Stimson is stepping down as Oak Cliff Chamber of Commerce president after about seven years in that role, someone with almost as much experience with the chamber is stepping up.
Kiyundra Gulley, who has served as chief operations officer since 2007, is the chamber’s new interim president.
Stimson started at the chamber in February 2007, and Gulley started the following May.
She says she heard about the opening and called Stimson for an interview.
“He had a stack of resumes on his desk,” she recalls. “He never actually hired me. We always joke about that. He never hired me; I just asked where my office was.”
She started working the same day, and they were the only two employees until they hired marketing director Chelsea Klepfer about a year later.
Gulley, previously a mortgage underwriter for Wachovia, says Stimson has been her mentor over the years.
“He basically just taught me everything that I could absorb,” she says. “He took me under his wing, and he has definitely pushed me to the point that I’m more confident in this role and just overall, so I am forever indebeted to him.”
