Chamber's trade director, to no surprise, is fired. (Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce; Hiram Perez)

The new head of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce has fired the executive director of the group's trade program.

Chamber President Don Barber dismissed Hiram Perez amid moves to reorganize the Tampa Bay International Trade Council to expand its scope.

"I was told the trade council wanted to take a different course than I was taking," Perez said. "We had different ideas on what duties the council should do. I was terminated."

Perez's firing was, for many in the Bay Area international trade community, not much of a surprise. He had been hired by former Chamber President Harvey Schmitt in March 1993, just months before Schmitt himself was ousted.

Perez's last day on the job was July 27, two days after he returned from a trade fair in Bogota, …