Jonathan Weinhagen, the CEO of the Minneapolis Regional Chamber for the past eight years, resigned from the organization Thursday morning.

The business group said it's appointed John Stanoch, a former Hennepin County Judge and telecom executive who's led the Minneapolis chamber before, as interim CEO, effective immediately, as it begins a search for a new leader.

No reason was given for the transition. The Business Journal reached out to Weinhagen, whose LinkedIn page still describes him as "President & CEO at Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce," for a comment.

Weinhagen had led the Minneapolis Regional Chamber, which says it has 2,300 members across the 13-county metro area, since 2016, when he jumped from a vice president role at the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce. He took over from Todd Klingel, who resigned due to health reasons; Klingel died later that year.

During his tenure, Weinhagen led the merger between the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce and the TwinWest Chamber of Commerce, a deal that significantly expanded the group's presence in the western suburbs.

Stanoch had led the Minneapolis chamber for an interim period between Klingel and Weinhagen. He also was president of the chamber in 2005 and 2006 and served on the board of directors from 2004 to 2009.

Stanoch's career includes serving as president of Qwest Communications — the former regional telecom in Minnesota and North Dakota — as a Minnesota chief deputy attorney general, and as CEO of Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Upper Midwest.

More recently, he led the group Minnesota USA Expo 2027, which had sought to bring a World's Fair to the Twin Cities. (The World's Fair wound up going to Serbia instead.)

“John is a highly regarded leader in Minnesota who will be an incredible asset to the organization as we thoughtfully consider the right person to lead MRC into the future,” said MRC Board of Directors Chair Darrel German.