Destination Pulse

Las Vegas's convention authority hangs the AI banner

· Updated

The clearest AI bet yet from an American destination organization: the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has moved its vice president of digital and content marketing into a senior vice president of AI and enterprise performance seat. Michael O’Brien had run the authority’s digital and content shop since 2023; his title now leads with AI (leadership page). The build-out goes deeper than the nameplate: the bureau is hiring an AI solutions manager, a posting opened September 16, for a team that “designs and builds AI-native solutions” across departments, under a director of AI systems and integration (job bulletin). It is the first AI-titled senior seat in Destination Pulse’s records, and the question now is whether the banner travels.

At Visit Baltimore, the chief marketer’s portfolio grew: Trish McClean is now Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer, strategy added to the chair she has held since July 2021 (about page). She climbed from brand director in 2019 (LinkedIn), and steps into a bureau coming off a fiscal year that booked 36 citywide events and more than 200,000 room nights (Exhibitor Online).

Richmond Region Tourism filled its vice-president of marketing chair with a hometown hand: Corey Lane, eighteen years in the business, the last five as a senior vice president at Richmond’s Elevation agency after a long run at The Martin Agency, announced the move himself (LinkedIn, staff page).

Traverse City Tourism’s leadership bench is losing senior talent, and the rest of Michigan is catching it. The COO chair has been open since Whitney Waara left for the Petoskey Area Visitors Bureau in early September (Petoskey News). This month it was the top marketing seat’s turn: Coryn Briggs, senior director of marketing, is the new director of destination marketing at the Mackinac Island Tourism Bureau (9&10 News). Both stayed in Michigan. Into the gap, the staff page now lists Elizabeth Carney as Director of Operations (staff directory), a director-level operations seat rather than the vacant COO chair.

Also on the move

Spotted in this week’s Destination Pulse scans, joins and role changes across the directory (the change feed lists every row):

  • Ariana Cooper joined Richmond Region Tourism as Accounting & Administrative Specialist (staff page).
  • Kelly Clare joined Greenville-Pitt County Convention & Visitors Bureau as Sales & Services Manager, Sports, an appointment the bureau announced; she was assistant director of facilities at East Carolina University’s campus recreation operation (WCTI 12, staff page).
  • Angie Avis joined Traverse City Tourism as Visitor Information Specialist (staff directory).
  • The Visit Tampa Bay comms bench split three ways: Marissa Weaver is now Media Relations Specialist, Molly Barbieri Social Media Specialist, and Nadia Colimon Social Media & Communications Coordinator; all three were Public Relations Coordinators (staff page).
  • Visit Plano’s sales desk now carries market assignments on the nameplate: Alysha Carse as Director of Sales, Sports Market; Christine Ford as National Sales Manager, Association Market; and Marisa Obando as National Sales Manager, Medical, Pharma, Insurance & Finance Markets (team page).
  • Samantha Mehlinger and Angel Garcia at Visit Long Beach now show one rendering each of their VP titles, Communications & Marketing and Client Services & Strategic Relationships, where two stood before (about page).
  • Amanda Cumplido joined Visit El Paso as Human Resource Coordinator (team page).
  • Kimberly Kerfoot joined Visit Baltimore as Board Administrator (about page).

This week’s board: one AI banner went up in Las Vegas, Baltimore’s CMO chair picked up strategy, Richmond and Traverse City each filled a senior seat, and Traverse City’s COO and top-marketing chairs both sit open. Detected by the weekly scans; moves confirmed by the linked sources.