NAPLES: Former state Rep. Dudley Goodlette, the volunteer chairman for the chamber’s board of directors, confirmed that Cox is leaving. Conversations between Cox and some of the chamber’s leadership started weeks ago about his plans and the chamber’s needs.“I don’t want to minimize it. It’s disappointing when things don’t work out the way we had expected and hoped that they would 26 months ago when John Cox was hired to be our president and CEO.
This was a mutually agreed upon resignation. I would characterize it more as a resignation than a termination.”Goodlette scheduled a conference call for Friday morning to discuss Cox’s departure with all of the directors for the chamber and its affiliates. When reached Thursday, several chamber directors said they had no idea Cox was leaving.In recent days, rumors of his departure have been spreading like wildfire.A normally chatty Cox has not returned phone calls, texts or voice mails seeking comment for two days.
At his offices Wednesday, Cox’s assistant said he was tied up on a conference call that would last for a while and wasn’t available for an interview with a reporter. The decision to part ways follows Cox’s second annual performance review. “There are just management issues that we concluded should be handled in the way that we are now preceding,” Goodlette said. “I feel very, very, very confident that the future is bright for the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce (GN), and it has been for the last couple of years.”
