Former U.S. Chamber of Commerce CEO Thomas J. Donohue died Monday at the age of 86, three years after stepping down as head of the powerful business group.

Donohue became head of the group in 1997 and built it up into a powerful lobbying force in Washington, D.C., with a statement from the Chamber of Commerce hailing him as having given “business a seat at the table and a voice in the debate in a way it never had before.”