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Philip Trenary, CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce and former CEO of Pinnacle Regional Airlines, was shot and killed by an unknown assailant on Thursday night.
Trenary, 64, was a popular civic leader from the Memphis community, widely known for his role in turning Pinnacle into a billion dollar business between 1997 and 2011.
According to the Associated Press, Trenary was alone when he was shot around 8 pm on South Front Street, near the place where the chamber was organizing its annual 4 mile run "Move It Memphis". He later died at the One Health Regional Hospital.
"It is still unclear whether there was a robbery or a personal vendetta," said Karen Rudolph, spokeswoman for the police in Memphis.
AP reports that the police are looking for a "black man with dreadlocks, wearing a blue shirt and driving a four-door white Ford F150".
Prior to leading Pinnacle, Trenary founded Exec Express Airlines in his home state, Oklahoma, in 1984. The company then moved to Texas, where it was renamed Lone Star Airlines. He moved to Memphis in 1997.
Three years after leaving the airline industry in 2011, Trenary was named President and Chief Executive Officer of the Memphis Chamber of Commerce, where he created the Chairman's Circle, a group of business leaders working at the improvement of the community. He was also a leader in support of minorities, women and local businesses. Tennessean reports.
The Mayor of Memphis, Jim Strickland, tweeted on the tweet that he was "shocked by the senseless loss" of Trenary.
Trenary was a "civic leader and businessman … extremely important to the city of Memphis," said US representative Steve Cohen in a statement. "He was totally immersed in the Memphis community, both as a celebrant and as a contributor."
Trenary is survived by his wife, Bridget, and their three children.
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