Ron Price has been named president and CEO of Visit Phoenix. A 25-year veteran of the travel and tourism industry, Price most recently served as president and CEO of the Arlington (Texas) CVB. He has also served as the assistant executive director of Visit San Antonio and worked more than 12 years as an executive at Marriott International. Price succeeds longtime Visit Phoenix CEO Steve Moore, who late last year announced his plans to retire.
Samantha Fuller has joined Go City / Leisure Pass Group in London as trade marketing executive. Previously, Fuller was a marketing executive for the City of London Corporation. Prior to that, she was senior marketing manager for The Original Tour in London.
After 47 years in “this crazy wonderful industry,” Mark Ehrli says that he is finally retiring to start a second career selling real estate in New Smyrna Beach Florida. Eherli spent a good part of his career—some 30 years—with Planet Hollywood. He leaves as general manager at Planet Hollywood International in Orlando, Florida.
Walton County, Florida commissioners voted earlier this month to terminate the employment contract of Jay Tusa, executive director of the county’s Tourist Development Council (TDC) for the past five years. The brand name of the organization is Visit South Walton. The vote was 3 to 2. Based on the news coverage of the event, it was not readily clear why Tusa had been dismissed, although one commissioner contended that he had been having difficulty recently in setting up meetings with Tusa and the TDC staff. Prior to joining Visit South Walton, Tusa had served as director of communications and research at the Louisiana Office of Tourism. Previously, he was executive director at the River Parishes Tourist Commission in La Place, Louisiana.
Courtney Spiess has been named the new executive director of the Marietta (Georgia) Visitors Bureau, which counts among its attractions the Gone with the Wind Museum–named thus in order to commemorate one of the most popular movies ever made, “Gone with the Wind.” It was made in 1939. Spiess formerly served as the bureau’s marketing and public relations manager, first joining in 2018. She replaces Amanda Sutter, who left the organization in March.
Candace Hobson recently joined the Visit Aurora (Colorado), the Convention and Visitors Bureau. She is national sales manager. Prior to joining the organization, she served in senior sales positions at several different hotel companies in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain region.
After a nationwide search by the executive recruitment firm Searchwide Global, The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau has named Stuart Butler chief marketing officer of the CVB. Butler, is a 20-year resident of Myrtle Beach and former chamber board member. Prior to joining the Myrtle Beach organization, Butler was chief operating officer at Fuel Travel, a Myrtle Beach-based online marketing agency. He was with the company more than 20 years.
Christopher Bloore has taken on the position of president & COO of the Tourism Industry Association of Ontario. Bloore first joined the organization in March of last year, and was subsequently promoted to the president & COO post. Before joining TIAO, Bloore had worked in the British House of Commons for more than four years. He also served in local government in the UK—as a council member of the Worcester County Council.
Elo has just announced the arrival of Giancarlo Greco as CEO of the company. Elo is a Brazilian card association that offers financial services such as credit cards, debit cards and prepaid cars—all an integral part of the tourism industry’s financial infrastructure. Holder of an MBA from Duke University, Greco was previously at Accenture, where he worked for approximately four years, and has worked at Citibank, Deutsche Bank and American Express. For almost 20 years, he was a professor at Insper, teaching MBA courses in disciplines related to financial products and services.
Jane Clementino is the new Discover the World Director, Canada. She succeeds Joanne Lundy, who was Discover the World Director Canada for 28 years. Clementino is a well-known travel executive in Canada with 30 years of experience in aviation, corporate travel management, and retail travel. Clementino has extensive knowledge of the travel marketplace, distribution channels, and supplier relations, combined with strategic insights and business development capabilities. Clementino’s prior experience includes: global director of indirect sales for Westjet and Westjet Vacations; vice-president, client consulting services and sales for Navigant / CWT Canada where she created and implemented a global travel management operating framework and introduced value-based selling; director at the BottomLine Group (now Optimus SBR) consulting on T&E and travel programs for several Fortune 100 companies.
Luxury travel agency Virtuoso recently announced the appointment of Mary Beth Wressell as vice president, product marketing. In this newly created role, Wressell will focus on developing strategic product and brand marketing plans, shaping campaigns for Virtuoso’s numerous products, including travel inspiration site Virtuoso Wanderlist, Best of the Best hotels and resorts, events, professional development and more. Wressell brings more than 25 years of travel industry experience, including a previous six-year run with Virtuoso. Prior to rejoining the organization, Wressell served as vice president, marketing and public relations for Windstar Cruises. She served in a similar capacity as vice president, marketing communications for Holland America Line for 13 years.
The private sector Washington Tourism Alliance has announced the addition of Michelle Thana to the newly created role of director of marketing. Thana will lead the organization’s consumer marketing program, including strategic planning, consumer campaigns, advertising, direct marketing, social media and destination brand marketing and communications. Thana most recently served as Director of Marketing at Visit Vancouver USA. For two years she directed the organization’s marketing, creative and communications programs. From 2014 to 2019, Thana served on Travel Portland’s marketing team, first as marketing coordinator and then as marketing manager.
Michael R. Mullaney is the new CEO of Fraport USA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fraport AG Frankfurt Airport Services Worldwide, and a leading developer of airport retail, food and beverage concession programs. Michael Mullaney brings over 30 years of aviation experience, spanning concession development, airport operations, aviation consultancy and education. Most recently, Michael served as Executive Vice President of Corporate Strategy and Development for the Hudson Group, where throughout his 18-year tenure he led the company’s strategic direction, business development, governmental affairs and business diversity divisions. Mullaney succeeds Brett Kelly, Fraport USA’s acting CEO and senior vice president of Operations, who after many years of service will be leaving the company at the end of the month.
Barrhead Travel, one of the UK’s largest travel agencies,has permanently appointed former Thomas Cook head of retail Nicki Tempest-Mitchell as sales and marketing director. She takes over the new position after working as a consultant since 2019. The company said that Tempest-Mitchell played a “pivotal role” in the recruitment of many former Thomas Cook employees as Barrhead Travel began to grow its network following the September 2019 of Thomas Cook. Prior to her time at Thomas Cook, Tempest-Mitchell held senior positions with Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises.
Brad Niva is the new CEO of Montana’s Big Sky Chamber of Commerce and Visit Big Sky. He’ll take over on June 1. Niva hails from southern Oregon and brings an extensive background in the outdoor and tourism industry. Most recently, Niva served as the Executive Director of the visitor’s association Travel Southern Oregon. His resume also includes tenures as president & CEO at Rogue Wilderness Adventures and as senior executive at GlaxoSmithKline.
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Job Postings
From SearchWide Global:
—Visit Carlsbad is searching for a president and CEO. More details here.
—Switch, An Experience Agency based in St. Louis whose product lines include digital marketing, business meetings and events, and trade shows, is looking for a president and CEO. More details here.
—There is an opening for a chief executive officer at Explore Skagit Valley in Washington State. More details here.
—Louisville Tourism is looking for a senior vice president of convention development. More details here.
—Travel Portland is searching for a vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion. More details here.
—The Pacific Hospitality Group has an opening for an area director of marketing. More details here.
—Visit Wichita is searching for a vice president of marketing. More details here.
—Visit Wichita has an opening for a vice president of sales. More details here.
—Destinations International is searching for a senior director, membership engagement. More details here.
—The tourism research and intelligence company Arrivalist has an opening for a chief sales officer. More details here.
—The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau is searching for a new president and CEO. More details here.
—In Franklin, Tennessee, which is about 20 miles south of Nashville, the Williamson County Convention and Visitors Bureau is searching for a president and CEO. More details here.
—Headquartered in Irving, Texas, the Promotional Products Association International, is searching for a president & chief executive officer. More details here.
—The Valdosta-Lowndes County Conference Center & Tourism Authority in Georgia is looking for a new executive director. More details here.
—Visit Florida is searching for a vice president of marketing. For more information, visit here.
—In the Charlotte/Concord area of North Carolina, Great Wolf Resorts has an opening for a director of sales and catering. For details, click here
—Georgia’s Valdosta-Lowndes County Conference Center & Tourism Authority is searching for a conference sales director. More details here.
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From Indeed.com: We’ve taken a look at this site (click here) which says that it has hundreds of new jobs listed, including a fair number in the travel, tourism and related industries. A sampler of what to expect is below.
—Sesame Place, located in Langhorne, PA, not far from Philadelphia, has an opening for a public relations manager. More details here.
—The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is looking for a vice president of guest experience. The salary range is $130,000 – $157,000 a year: More details here.
—Hill + Knowlton Strategies is seeking a talented vice president or senior vice president to lead key consumer client engagements with a focus on travel and tourism. More details here.
—The American Queen Steamboat Company has a temporary, remote location opening for a shore excursions logistics manager. Location cited is in Easton, Pennsylvania. More details here.
—The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences museum in Los Angeles is searching for a group sales manager. More details here.
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From LinkedIn Jobs: Known to many across the board in the travel and tourism industry, the LinkedIn list (click here) has numerous job opportunities posted. Following is a brief sample of some of those jobs currently listed.
—NYC & Company has an opening for a marketing coordinator. More details here.
—REI has an opening for an adventure travel program coordinator. More details here.
—Interdependence Public Relations is searching for a Managing Director to launch and build a travel, leisure and hospitality division at its rapidly growing PR firm. More details here.
—In Burbank, California, The Walt Disney Company is looking for a manager, communications. More details here.
—Ralph Lauren is search for a coordinator, brand activation (regional tourism – West). More details here.
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Have a job to offer in the travel and tourism industry? Let us know and we’ll post your notice—no cost to you. Email tom@tomberrigan.com.
