Michael S. Neal, CCE, CCD, FM, HLM, IOM, is in his 18th year as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Tulsa Regional Chamber, which serves 20 counties in northeast Oklahoma. Prior to coming to Tulsa, Neal spent four years as president and CEO of the Nashville, TN, Area Chamber of Commerce, and 12 years as president and CEO of his hometown, Monroe, LA, Chamber of Commerce. Previously he served as District Office Manager for U.S. Congressman Jerry Huckaby and as Trust Officer for Central Bank (now Chase) in Monroe, LA.

Under Neal’s leadership, the Tulsa Regional Chamber is the only Chamber in America to hold five accreditations: the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s highest recognition, five-star accreditation; the International Economic Development Council’s prestigious Accredited Economic Development Organization distinction; Destination International’s Destination Marketing Accreditation; an Accredited Film Commission by the Association of Film Commissioners International; and an Accredited Sports Commission through Sports ETA.

The Tulsa Regional Chamber has been recognized as the National Chamber of the Year a record four times (2005, 2008, 2010, 2020) by the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (ACCE). In 2023, the Chamber was honored as the Economic Development Organization of the Year by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC). Also in 2023, the Chamber-housed Tulsa Sports Commission was named National Sports Commission of the Year by the Sports Events and Tourism Association (Sports ETA).

In 2021, IEDC awarded Neal its Fellow Member (FM) status, which is conferred upon active IEDC members who have achieved success in the field of economic development.

In 2018, the Oklahoma Chamber of Commerce Executives (OCCE) inducted Neal into their Hall of Fame in recognition of his 30 years of service to the chamber industry.

Tulsa People magazine named Neal the 2011 Tulsan of the Year for his limitless energy, can-do optimism and tireless efforts toward making Tulsa a better place.

Neal is a 1980 accounting graduate from the University of Louisiana Monroe, where he played baseball.

Neal and his wife, Jana, have two daughters – Cambridge, age 28, a 2017 graduate of Ole Miss; and Caroline, age 25, a 2020 graduate of the University of Kentucky and a 2021 graduate of the University of Louisville.