Brennan named to join UW-Madison’s corporate relations office

Robert W. Brennan, the longtime president of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce (GMCC), has accepted an appointment to join the new Office of Corporate Relations at the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a special consultant and liaison with the Wisconsin business community.

The appointment of Brennan, who has served as president of the Madison chamber since 1973, was announced jointly today by UW–Madison Chancellor John Wiley and Londa Dewey, GMCC board chair and president, US Bank.

In his new position, Brennan will work with the Office of Corporate Relations to “reach out to business and industry in Wisconsin to better understand their needs and help them access the resources available to them on the UW–Madison campus,” says Charles Hoslet, the university’s managing director of corporate relations.

Wiley explained that the university approached Brennan for the new position “because of his depth of insight and understanding of the needs of business, and his distinguished record in economic-development initiatives that have been a hallmark of Bob’s role at the GMCC for more than 30 years.”

Dewey said, “Bob Brennan’s tremendous leadership will truly be missed as chamber president. He helped put Wisconsin on the map as a leader in high-tech business growth. GMCC enjoyed record levels for membership growth and program participation under Bob’s leadership. His vision and experience will be put to good use in this new position as the university renews its commitment to linking the assets of UW–Madison to the local and state economy.”

The Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce has more than tripled in size since Brennan began his career 30 years ago, Dewey noted.

Wiley and Dewey said that one of Brennan’s greatest accomplishments is the strong relationship he developed between the university and the business community. One of Brennan’s first actions in office was to make sure the university chancellor serves on GMCC’s board of directors.

The long-standing relationship between the university and the business community helped plant the seeds for the Wisconsin Innovation Network program (WIN). Brennan is a co-founder of WIN, which hosts programs to assist high-tech start-up companies get necessary investment capital and support. There are now more than 400 high-tech businesses in Dane County for which WIN is partly responsible.

Brennan’s work with the WIN program led to the creation of WTC, the Wisconsin Technology Council. The WTC is the state’s umbrella organization for high-tech business development in Wisconsin. Brennan will continue to serve on WTC’s board of directors.

Brennan is also responsible for developing Leadership Greater Madison (LGM), a program to develop civic-minded leaders in the community. The program now has more than 300 alumni.

He also helped create Future Madison Housing Inc., a program responsible for revitalizing many neighborhoods in Madison and dedicated to improving housing and the quality of life in the community.

Brennan, who holds a bachelor’s degree from UW–Madison, serves on the boards of several community and service organizations, and is a former president and chair of the Wisconsin Alumni Association.

The GMCC board of directors has created a search committee and hopes to select a new chamber president by fall, at which time Brennan will join the university.