The Detroit Regional Chamber is pleased to announce Devon O’Reilly as senior director of Community Engagement and Leadership Development. In this new role, O’Reilly will lead the Chamber’s long-running Leadership Detroit program as well as the community and small business impact NeighborHub program in partnership with General Motors, and continue to cultivate other initiatives to advance the Chamber’s talent and equity agendas. O’Reilly steps into this position after several years of experience managing Chamber programs focused on community, entrepreneurship, and leadership.
O’Reilly started at the Chamber in 2014 and was responsible for the development and programming of the Detroit Policy Conference. Under his leadership, the Conference grew into a premier convening focused on the issues impacting Detroit and the region, attracting 800 community and business leaders annually by featuring notable national and local speakers.
Additionally, O’Reilly developed the Mackinac Policy Conference Future Leaders program in partnership with Bank of America, shepherding 175 participants through the Conference experience, securing opportunities for these leaders to have intimate discussions with high-profile Conference participants including senior elected officials, Conference Chairs, and high-profile speakers such as U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.
For the Chamber’s statewide MICHauto program, O’Reilly partnered with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to connect startups in the mobility industry with established automotive firms with Mobility Meetup events and helped promote local changemaking businesses through the Detroiters Think Big podcast.
O’Reilly was a 2019 Crain’s Detroit Business 40 Under 40 awardee and participated in the 2020 Harvard Business School’s Young American Leaders Program, which he continues to support through the Chamber’s annual engagement with the Detroit cohort.
“Over the past eight years, Devon gained a tremendous understanding of the region’s business, community, and government landscape. His success in creating compelling programming, establishing fruitful partnerships, and building relationships is evident in the growth his programs have achieved,” said Sandy K. Baruah, president and chief executive officer of the Chamber. “With Leadership Detroit now among the initiatives under his tutelage, I look forward to Devon’s influence on the Chamber’s signature leadership development program in the coming years.”
When the Leadership Detroit role became available in June, Chamber leadership determined O’Reilly’s affinity for community development and prominent successes at the Chamber and beyond made him an ideal fit for this program.
Selection for Leadership Detroit Class XLIII will be finalized this month, and sessions will begin in October. The nomination process for Leadership Detroit XLIV will begin in 2023.