Vistage Chairs to Retire After Career of Leadership in the Tucson Business Community

SAN DIEGO (Nov. 25, 2015) — After nearly a decade of career coaching, Gary Hirsch and his wife Kandy have announced their retirement from Vistage Worldwide, Inc., a global organization that assembles and facilitates private advisory boards for CEOs, senior executives and business owners.

Gary and Kandy currently lead three private peer advisory groups for almost 40 members in Tucson.  They launched Vistage’s first group in the Tucson market and today, their members have accumulated growth and savings in the millions, and are running healthier, more productive and more culturally intentional organizations.

“We cannot thank Gary and Kandy enough for their years of service, and establishing Vistage in the Tucson market,” said Lesley Sarkesian, Regional Executive for the Southwest Region of Vistage Worldwide. “It has been a true pleasure working with them. The Tucson business landscape will not be the same without their leadership and guidance.

Chairs Troy Rice and Steve Witthoeft will transition as leaders of the three groups beginning December 1st, and will meet monthly with members to discuss business issues, share expertise, and provide one another confidential help to achieve their goals. Troy and Steve are part of a community of more than 800 Chairs worldwide who lead local area groups, which total more than 20,000 members in 16 countries.

Troy Rice is a long time executive in Arizona. He has founded and run six companies, and has held Senior Executive positions with large public companies including PetSmart, Universal Technical Institute, Comfort Systems USA and CIBT Education Group. Troy currently serves on the Board of Directors of CIBT Education Group and chairs its’ Audit Committee.

Steven Witthoef recently located to the Tucson area.  He is a seasoned executive having held leadership positions in both U.S. and European owned companies. He has extensive international business experience.  Former companies include UOP (a division of Honeywell), LaPorte Chemicals, and Zeochem LLC.

About Vistage Worldwide, Inc.
Vistage is the world’s largest CEO coaching and peer advisory organization for small and midsize businesses. For more than 65 years, we’ve been helping CEOs, business owners and key executives solve their greatest challenges through confidential peer groups and one-to-one executive coaching sessions. Today, more than 45,000 members in 35 countries rely on Vistage to help make better decisions for their companies, families and communities. The results prove it: Vistage CEO members grew their annual revenue on average by 4.6% in 2020, while nonmembers with comparable small and midsize businesses saw revenue decrease by 4.7%, according to a study of Dun & Bradstreet data. Learn more at vistage.com.

Media Contact
Katie McWeeney
| Vistage
858.523.6875 | katie.mcweeney@vistage.com