Capitol Weekly’s Top 100: Allan Zaremberg

Top 100 Hall of Fame

For nearly a quarter century, Allan Zaremberg served as the de facto face of business for the state of California, home to the fourth largest economy in the world. Before he retired as president and CEO of the California Chamber of Commerce at the end of 2021, he appeared in the first 13 Top 100 lists, never missing one in which he was eligible. He epitomizes the kind of Capitol titans we seek to enshrine in the Capitol Weekly Top 100 Hall of Fame. But he was also unique, the rare Sacramento power player with a steadfast allegiance to the GOP. A Pennsylvania native,  Zaremberg graduated from Penn State with a bachelor’s of economics before embarking on a five-year stint as an Air Force captain and flight navigator on a KC-135 jet air refueling tanker. He graduated with a law degree from the University of Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law in 1978, then went to work for Attorney General George Deukmejian. Zaremberg followed his boss to the governor’s office, then stayed on for a time working for his successor, Pete Wilson. For six years, Zaremberg served as Executive Vice President and head of CalChamber’s legislative advocacy program before ascending to the organization’s top spot in 1998. In his role as the leader of California’s business interests, he developed a reputation as a pragmatist who was willing to work across the aisle as well as an expert of spin, with the Chamber’s labeling of bills it disliked as “Job Killers.” When he announced his retirement, Donna Lucas, a member of the Capitol Weekly Top 100 Hall of Fame herself, called Zaremberg’s work “legendary.”

Updated Aug. 9, 2026