Angela Franco

President & CEO, DC Chamber of Commerce

Prior to joining the DC Chamber of Commerce as Interim President & CEO, Angela Franco was the Senior Advisor for Business Development at the DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority (DCHBX) where she is responsible for collaborating with the Hispanic and business communities as well as local and Federal Government.

Prior to joining DCHBX, Angela was the President and CEO of the Greater Washington Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (GWHCC) from 2009 to 2017. Under her leadership, the organization was strengthened and revitalized as evidenced by its dramatic membership growth from 60 members when she started to 670 members upon her departure. It also experienced a 500% increase in operating revenue during her eight years of service. She led the organization in regaining the trust of its members, partners and sponsors.

The Washington Business Journal ranks the GWHCC among the Top Five Chambers of Commerce in the DC Metro Region. Before Angela’s arrival, it had never even made the list. In 2015, the GWHCC was named Chamber of the Year by the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and in 2013, received that organization’s award as the best midsized Chamber in the nation.

While at GWHCC, Angela pioneered the development of successful membership programs. She promoted business-to-business networking and synergistic relationship building, created training programs for owners of startup enterprises, built a bridge between the DC Metro Region and Latin America, and appeared before numerous government agencies as an advocate for the interests of regional Hispanic and minority businesses. Because of her passion and commitment, more than 70% of the Chamber’s members have grown their businesses and increased their ROI.

Angela has served on numerous boards and commissions. She is a Board Member at Large for the United Way Capital Region and the Advisory Board of the Pan American Development Foundation and an appointee to the DC Workforce Investment Council (by the DC Mayor).

A graduate of Leadership Montgomery and Leadership Greater Washington Angela is also a Board member of the Merit Systems Protection Board of Montgomery County.

Angela’s earlier career in the US includes being a member of the Senior Leadership Team for the Branch Banking and Trust Company (BB&T), and Assistant to the President and CEO of the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

She is a United States citizen who held other management positions before relocating to the US from Bogotá, Colombia. In Bogotá, Angela was Manager for Special Businesses for the Santander Pension Fund, Manager of Institutional Relations for a division of Banco Popular del Ecuador, and Assistant to the VP of Marketing for the American International Group (AIG).

She holds a Master of Science degree in Finance and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration. While with BB&T, she was chosen to attend the Branch Banking and Trust University, an 18-month educational program offered only to those recognized as top performers with high potential. She is also a Certified Life Coach, and a John Maxwell certified trainer, coach and speaker.