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Jim Hyler of Raleigh, the vice chairman and COO of First Citizens BancShares Inc. and First Citizens Bank, was installed March 20 as the new chairman of North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry (NCCBI), which serves as the state chamber of commerce. Hyler took office during the 60th annual meeting of the state’s largest business group; he succeeds Gordon Myers of Asheville, the Ingles Markets executive.

Addressing an estimated 800 business, political and educational leaders from across the state, Hyler said he will work to strengthen NCCBI’s business advocacy, on delivering member services and in leading NCCBI’s campaign for legislative session limits. ”I believe the primary focus of our organization in the coming year should be to promote our state’s business interests and to serve as a strong advocate for business – particularly in the North Carolina legislature and in Washington.”

Hyler should be well positioned to achieve his goals because over the coming year he also will command a second bully pulpit. He recently was appointed by Gov. Mike Easley as chairman of the Governor’s Government Efficiency Commission which has been charged with recommending ways the state can deliver services more efficiently.

A 1970 graduate of Virgina Tech, Hyler served as First Citizens’ CFO for eight years.  He was named president of First Citizens in 1988, the position he held until 1993 when he was named to his current position.

Hyler is very active in community affairs and serves as chairman of the Rex Healthcare Board of Trustees.  He is also chairman of the President’s Council for the 2005 U.S. Open Golf Championship, to be held in Pinehurst, an effort he also led during the 2001 event at Pinehurst.  Hyler is involved in numerous other organizations, ranging from the Carolina Bankers Association to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

“Jim takes over at a critical time for North Carolina,” said Gordon Myers, Hyler’s predecessor at NCCBI.  “But I think his financial acumen, experience in banking and active involvement the community are just what we need, and I wish him well.”

Sue Cole of Greensboro, the president of U.S. Trust Co. of North Carolina, became first vice chair of NCCBI at the March 20 event in Raleigh and Bill Coley of Charlotte, group president of Duke Power Co., was elected second vice chair of the organization.

Before joining U.S. Trust in 1987, Cole was a senior vice president of North Carolina National Bank. A 1972 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where she serves as a trustee, Cole is active in many civic and community groups in the Triad.

Coley, who also will serve this year as chairman of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce, is a graduate of Georgia Tech who has spent his entire career with Duke Power. He is a director of several businesses, including CT Communications, SouthTrust Corp., NovantHealth and the Electric Power Research institute.

About NCCBI

With about 2,200 member companies of all types and sizes, North Carolina Citizens for Business and industry is the state’s largest and most influential business group, widely respected for its balanced, thoughtful approach to public policy issues. A nonpartisan, nonprofit membership organization, NCCBI was founded in 1942 and has served for the past 25 years as the state Chamber of Commerce, and is recognized as such by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. NCCBI also is the official state affiliate of the National Association of Manufacturers.