Conversations Glendale Chamber
Glendale recently welcomed Patrick S. Banger as city manager and Chief Executive Officer
for the City of Glendale, Arizona.
Here, Glendale Chamber President and Chief Executive Officer Zach Yentzer shares his
conversation with Banger about his background, new role and how his work will be key in leading
innovation, economic growth and development to the region.
ZY: You didn’t originally set out to work in city government.
How did you find your way into
public service?
PB: I was actually planning to go to law school. I was interning at the U.S. Attorney’s Office my
senior year, and it was a great experience.
After I graduated, I decided to defer law school for a bit. I didn’t want to immediately take on
student loans, so I took a job with a city, O’Fallon, just outside of St. Louis. It turned out to
be one of those moments in life you don’t plan for, but you realize you’re called to
something different.
I fell in love with public service, and specifically local government. What we do at the city level is
one of the most important factors in people’s lives: their health, their safety, and their quality
of life. Whether it’s police, fire, water, or parks, I don’t think most people fully
appreciate how much their local city impacts their day-to-day life.
So instead of going to law school, I changed course. I went on to get my master’s degree and
worked my way up in city leadership. What started as a temporary decision really became my calling.
.
ZY: You spent over a decade and a half in Gilbert, during a
period of major growth. What did that
experience teach you?
PB: I spent 14 and a half years in Gilbert, and it was an incredible experience. During that time, we
added about 100,000 residents, and most of the commercial development you see there today happened over
those years. It was a front-row seat to what intentional, sustained growth can look like.
What it really reinforced for me is how critical economic development is to a community. When you bring
in jobs, jobs that people can not just survive on but thrive on, it changes everything. It creates
opportunity for families, and it generates the revenue that allows cities to fund police, fire, parks,
and all the services people rely on.
ZY: What are the biggest opportunities
you see for Glendale right now?
PB: The more I dug in, the more I realized this is an amazing community, and one where we have an
opportunity to do a better job telling our story. There’s such a breadth of assets here, and a
diversity that I don’t think everyone fully understands yet.
When I looked at the entertainment district, you've got the Cardinals, Desert Diamond Arena, the
casino, and then VAI Resort under construction, which is unlike anything outside of Las Vegas anywhere
in the nation. You combine that with Arrowhead, Luke Air Force Base, the Loop 303 corridor, and the land
we still have available for development, and the opportunities here are boundless.
I really believe we have the ability not just to stay competitive regionally, but to elevate
Glendale’s position nationally and even internationally if we leverage these assets
effectively.
And then you look at downtown — it’s a jewel. Downtown redevelopment is some of the hardest
work you can do, but I love that kind of challenge. It’s about blending its heritage and character
into the fabric of revitalization, taking it to the next level, and giving people a reason, from inside
and outside Glendale, to come experience it.
That combination — the scale of opportunity and the ability to help shape what comes next —
is what really drew me here.
ZY: How do you approach supporting small
businesses alongside large-scale growth?
PB: Small businesses are the backbone of every community. There are more jobs created by small
businesses than by any major employer.
The key is to work backward from people. What do they actually need? Is it different regulatory or
taxation policies? Is it workforce development? More affordable housing? Too often, we create programs
with good intentions but without truly listening. If we start with their needs, we can build solutions
that actually help them thrive.
ZY: What role does the Glendale Chamber of Commerce
play in shaping the future of business in
Glendale?
PB: Chambers are an important partner in any city. They provide a strong voice and a conduit for
sharing feedback as we all work toward the same goal of creating a vibrant community and a thriving
business environment.
Our business ecosystem is vital. I’ve always said economic development is the "first among
equals." Businesses create jobs, drive revenue, and ultimately make possible everything else the
City wants to accomplish, especially the services we provide to residents.
Having a strong, engaged business community — and a strong voice through organizations like the
Chamber — is essential to making good decisions as a city.
