Gentry Collins

Gentry Collins is Chief Executive Officer of the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce, a national advocacy and trade association that works to expand economic opportunity for all Americans and to secure equal access to the marketplace for small and medium-sized businesses. He is also a partner at CAP Public Affairs, where he has led large-scale advocacy and brand management efforts across multiple sectors of the American economy.

Gentry has held senior roles in national politics across three election cycles. In 2004 he served as Executive Director and Deputy Chairman of the Republican Party of Iowa, helping carry the state for Bush-Cheney. Iowa was one of only two states to switch from Gore in 2000 to Bush in 2004, and the result was the first Republican win in Iowa since 1984.

In 2006 he was National Political Director of the Republican Governors Association, engaging in gubernatorial races and independent expenditure efforts in 36 states. In 2010 he was National Political Director of the Republican National Committee, playing a major role in the cycle that returned a Republican majority to the U.S. House, and was a candidate that year for chair of the committee.

He has served as a Fellow at the University of Southern California's Center for the Political Future, where he lectured on the future of the Republican Party, and co-founded NewRepublican.org to change how campaigns and party committees approach brand management.