The Pittsburgh North Regional Chamber will have an easy time acclimating its new executive director to the area and the job.

The chamber board announced Thursday that its chairman, Jim Boltz, has been named to the chamber’s top administrative job.

Boltz has been a chamber member for almost 10 years, and has been on the board for eight years. A former board treasurer, he has been board chairman since January.

“I really appreciate the opportunity they’re giving me,” Boltz said of the board’s decision to offer him the top job. “I think we have common goals, and I can lead the organization to achieve the goals they have set for me.”

He replaces former president and CEO Rebecca Martin, who abruptly resigned April 1, effective that day, after only 14 months on the job.

Boltz said he went through the same steps as the 247 other candidates for the job. He said he left the room when the position was discussed at chamber meetings.

“I was not privy to any information about the search,” Boltz said.

He said he excused himself when the board interviewed the two other final candidates. And he admitted it was odd sitting in the candidate’s seat and being interviewed by this colleagues on the board.

“I’m used to directing the board meetings, and now I’m sitting in the seat where everyone else is asking me all the questions,” Boltz said.

His new position begins Monday, when Boltz will end his daily involvement with his business, Minuteman Press. He said his wife will run the family-owned shop, which they have owned for nine years.

Before buying Minuteman Press, Boltz was the general manager for Kaufmann’s Department Store for almost a decade.

He feels his combined experience with Kaufmann’s and Minuteman Press and as a chamber board member makes him a good fit for the job.

“My overall experience is also something I feel is going to help me guide the chamber,” Boltz said.

Regarding goals for the chamber he knows so well, Boltz said increasing membership value and marketing are important.

“But building relationships with the communities we serve and with our members, that’s gotta be number one,” he said.

Boltz said he decided to seek the job about the time the board began initial telephone screenings on candidates.

He said it was a tough decision because he owns a business.

“It’s a big step for me,” he said.

Chamber member John Laslavic will take over as chairman of the board. Laslavic said on Thursday that Boltz will make the perfect leader of the chamber if only because he knows it so well.

“This is a great opportunity for the chamber,” he said. “Jim brings a real passion and a lot of business experience with him to the table. I know he’ll help move the chamber ahead and beyond where we’ve been.”

Laslavic said he’s known Boltz for nearly 10 years in the chamber. The two also have done business together outside of the chamber.

“His work ethic and values are all a part of why the board believes in him and wants him to move the organization forward,” he said.

The chamber has about 1,000 members from Zelienople south to the Allegheny River, from Route 8 in the east into Beaver County in the west. It covers parts of Allegheny, Beaver and Butler counties and also 16 municipalities.

It operates two offices, its main office at 5000 Brooktree Road in Wexford and one in the Cranberry Township Municipal Center on Rochester Road.

Search committee members were Kiersten McCort, Dan Penberthy, Judith Bernhardt, Patty Bittle, John McCool, John Tubridy, Mike Hall, Jerry Walkins, Terry Anderson, Cletus Scalo, Tony Lombard, Lisa Hunt, Bruce Goodman and Laslavic.