Greater Milwaukee Committee Names Garcia-Thomas Permanent CEO

Cristy Garcia-Thomas. Photo provided.

The Greater Milwaukee Committee has selected Cristy Garcia-Thomas as its permanent president and CEO, ending the uncertainty over the influential civic organization’s leadership following former president Joel Brennan’s unsuccessful run for governor.

The GMC board of directors announced Garcia-Thomas’s appointment Friday morning. She has led the organization on an interim basis for the past eight months.

Garcia-Thomas took over in December after Brennan stepped away to launch his campaign for the Democratic nomination for governor. At the time, Brennan’s departure left open the possibility that he could return to the organization after the campaign.

He won’t.

“As the Board considered the organization’s future, one priority remained clear: identifying the leader best positioned to build on the GMC’s momentum and lead our work in the years ahead,” said GMC board chair Dave Anderson in a statement.

“We appreciate the leadership and dedication that Joel brought to the organization,” Anderson said. “We also look forward to Cristy continuing to build on the momentum created over the past eight months reinforcing the GMC’s role as a trusted convener focused on improving the economic vitality and quality of life throughout the Milwaukee region.”

Brennan, who had led the GMC since late 2021, finished with 4.7% of the vote in the crowded Aug. 11 Democratic gubernatorial primary. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley narrowly won the nomination.

Brennan has not announced what he intends to do next. Before leading the GMC, he served as secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Administration under Gov. Tony Evers, one of the most powerful positions in state government. One source suggested to Urban Milwaukee that Brennan could be a candidate for a state government position should Crowley win the November general election.

Garcia-Thomas, meanwhile, enters the permanent position with a long record of executive and civic leadership in Milwaukee.

She previously held senior leadership roles at Advocate Health and its predecessor organizations, served as president and CEO of the United Performing Arts Fund and worked as a publishing executive at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Garcia-Thomas said her initial priorities as permanent CEO would include listening to members and partners and strengthening relationships inside and outside the organization.

“Transformational leadership begins with a clear vision, but it succeeds through collaboration,” she said. “It means bringing people together around common purpose, embracing innovation, making difficult decisions when necessary, and creating lasting impact that extends well beyond any one leader or organization.”

“My goal is to help position Milwaukee not only to respond to change, but to lead it,” Garcia-Thomas said.

The Greater Milwaukee Committee, a nonprofit civic organization whose membership includes many of the region’s leading business, nonprofit, education and philanthropic executives, intends to maintain its focus on four broad areas: fiscal strength, education, infrastructure and public safety.

A 501(c)(3) organization, its 2024 tax filing shows revenue of $1.61 million, almost all of which came from members. Brennan was paid $364,000 that year.

Garcia-Thomas was on the 2021 selection committee that recommended hiring Brennan.

The group has historically sought to use its connections and influence of its membership to convene leaders around major Milwaukee-area challenges and advance initiatives that cross public- and private-sector boundaries.

Garcia-Thomas said that approach would continue.

“I am excited to work alongside our members and partners to strengthen our economy, expand opportunity, and ensure that our region continues to be a place where businesses thrive, families succeed, and future generations choose to build their lives,” she said. “Together, we have an opportunity not only to address today’s challenges, but to define what Milwaukee can become over the next generation.”