Ernest Wooden Jr. (left) is stepping down from his post as president & CEO of Pres. and CEO of Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board at the end of June, when his current contract with the organization ends. According to published reports, he recommended that Adam Burke,(right) chief operating officer of Los Angeles Tourism, as his replacement, and the board of directors’ executive committee agreed. Before joining the organization at the beginning of 2013, Wooden had his own consulting firm. Previously, he served in senior management positions at Hilton Hotels.
Ron Erdmann, long-time official and analyst at the U.S. National Travel & Tourism Office (NTTO) before he retired from the agency a little more than two years ago, has been named senior research associate at CIC, a San Diego-based research firm responsible for conducting the Survey of International Air Travelers (SIAT) for the U.S. Department of Commerce, International Trade Administration, NTTO. Erdmann, who spent more than 30 years with the NTTO and its predecessor organizations, serving as deputy director for more than 20 years before retiring at the end of 2017, will be based in the Washington DC area.
Stephanie Pace Brown is leaving her post as president and CEO of Explore Asheville after nearly eight years on the job. Brown departs officially in June to move to another state to take a position in the private sector. Before her tenure at Asheville, she was president and CEO of the Alexandria (Va.) CVA for nearly five years. Prior to that, Brown was vice president for public affairs at Mount Vernon—George Washington’s estate.
SeaWorld Entertainment’s chief financial officer and treasurer, Marc Swanson, has taken over as interim CEO of the company following the resignation on April 4 of Sergio Rivera. He had held the position for just five months, citing conflict with the board of directors’ involvement in decision-making within the company. Rivera became the company’s third CEO to depart in just over two years. The company’s previous chief executive, Gustavo “Gus” Antorcha, left last September after citing similar issues. Swanson will remain in the position at least until the reopening of the SeaWorld parks, which have been closed since mid-March due to the outbreak of coronavirus.
Troy J. Sacco was recently appointed vice president of global sales at Fogo de Chão. He joined the company from Touchstone Golf, where he was vice president of sales & marketing. Previously, he was with Main Street Entertainment, and prior to that he had served as vice president of sales & marketing at the American Golf Corporation.
In Brazil, Guilherme dal Secco has been named general sales agent for Hertz, Dollar and Thrifty. He takes on the position after serving as commercial and marketing director for United Airlines. Dal Secco is based in São Paulo.
In France, Adeline Le Thanh has joined the Voyages Internationaux-Decoov tour operator teams as a sales representative. The operator promotes a variety of North American products. Le Thanh joins from Salaun Holidays, where she was a travel advisor.
