Brent DeRaad, leader of Visit Tucson for more than nine years, has been appointed President & CEO at Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau in Texas. A nationwide search followed the resignation of Ron Price who left in May to head up Visit Phoenix.
EVP J. Felipe Garcia, a veteran of Visit Tucson, has been appointed Interim President & CEO while a serarch begins for DeRadd’s replacement.
DeRaad, who also spent 10 years in executive marketing roles at the Scottsdale bureau, takes up his new appointment on December 6.
Tom Loftus is joining the team at Richmond Region Tourism – Visit Richmond Virginia as Vice President of Marketing. He had most recently been Chief Marketing Officer at Visit Pittsburgh.
Episode #15 goes live on 11/3 at 7 a.m. ET. We’re talking about people and open positions on The Travel Vertical Podcast. Have you subscribed? “
The Caribbean is hot! Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc. has announced the appointment of a new CEO, appointing Jens Thraenhart from a pool of 178 candidates.
He joins from Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office in Bangkok, which he founded as a regional inter-governmental tourism effort representing six countries. Thraenhart, who co-founded Dragon Trail Interactive, succeeds Craig Hinds, who had been serving in the role on an interim basis; Hinds had been preceded by Petra Roach, who had served in an interim basis before being named CEO of the Grenada Tourism Authority. Thraenhart is 2nd Vice Chair, UNWTO Affiliate Members (World Tourism Organization).
Native New Yorker Martha Palacios has joined NYC & Company as Senior Director International MICE (Canada, LATAM & Europe). An experienced hotel and hospitality international sales executive, she joins from Marriott International.
Daniel Horsch is the new Director of Marketing and Brand Management at Grapevine Convention & Visitors Bureau in Texas, where he had previously served as Digital Marketing Manager. Between his two Grapevine roles, Horsch was at Visit Dallas and Miles Partnership, Visit El Paso and the Lubbock Economic Development Alliance.
Destination Irvine welcomes Sue O’Shea as Senior Director of Marketing. Her previous experience includes a role as Marketing Director at Visit Anaheim.
Victoria Vlisides has been appointed as the Digital and Social Media Manager at Destination Madison. She joins the team from her previous role as social media marketing specialist at Travel Wisconsin.
Araceli Romero de Macedo has joined Experience Kissimmee as Social Media Manager. Her experience includes previous roles at Visit Orlando and Disney Parks.
Patricia “Patti” Ornellas has joined the Kaua’i Visitors Bureau as Destination Manager. She joins from a development role at American Cancer Society.
Caitlin Bolton starts a new role as Communications Specialist at Miles Partnership. She had recently been with the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce as Communications Coordinator.
In New York City, Dan Rogoski has been appointed Vice President Operations, Empire State Building Observatory. He joins from his prior role as President of Experience The Ride LLC.
Stefanie Schultz, Brand and Digital Marketing Manager at Utah’s Solitude Mountain Resort, is joining the parent company, Alterra Mountain Company, which operates outdoor adventure destinations in six U.S. states and three Canadian provinces.
Ashley Bello departs Simpleview to join Atlassian, a computer software company, as Team Lead Enterprise Customer Retention. She comes to her new role after five years as Customer Success Director at Simpleview.
Cleo Battle, President & CEO at Louisville Tourism, will serve as the chairman of MPI in 2023 and will accept the chair-elect position for the 2022 term.
“Congratulations to Tori Barnes—one of Association TRENDS 2021 Leading Lobbyists. From advocating for pandemic-related relief to fighting for a return to business travel to promoting the united power of the industry, and so much more—the travel community is stronger and more robust because of you and your presence in Washington.” — U.S. Travel Association
