On the heels of its reauthorization through Fiscal Year 2027, Brand USA announces the appointment of three new members and the reappointment of two current members to its board of directors.
The U.S. Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the U.S. Secretary of State and the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, appoints the 11-member board according to specific sectors of the travel and tourism industry. These senior executives serve staggered three-year terms and work together to provide leadership and overall guidance to Brand USA’s mission and operations. The newly appointed and reappointed members include:
- Todd Davidson, chief executive officer, Travel Oregon (newly appointed, representing one of two seats for an official from a state tourism office)
- Donald Moore, senior vice president, business rental sales and global accounts, Enterprise Holdings, Inc. (newly appointed, representing the seat for the land or sea transportation sector)
- Konstantinos Dean Kantaras, owner and managing attorney, K. Dean Kantaras, P.A. (newly appointed, representing the seat for the immigration law and policy sector)
- Alice Norsworthy, chief marketing officer for Universal Parks & Resorts (reappointed, representing the seat for the attractions or recreation sector, current vice chair of the board)
- Tom O’Toole, senior fellow and clinical professor of marketing at the Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University (reappointed, representing the seat for the passenger air sector)
“On behalf of the Brand USA board of directors, I welcome and look forward to the insight and experience of the newly appointed members, who are distinguished and accomplished leaders of our industry. We are also pleased with the reappointment of board members Alice Norsworthy and Tom O’Toole, who will continue to be compelling leaders in our work to grow the U.S. economy and create jobs through the power of international travel,” said John Edman, Brand USA board chair and director of Explore Minnesota. “We also extend our deep gratitude and well wishes to Barbara Richardson, Andrew Greenfield, and Kristen Branscum for their years of service and leadership on the board.”
The board of directors convenes quarterly and will meet as a full board on Feb. 13, 2020. More information about Brand USA board meetings is available here. The six other officers and members of the Brand USA board of directors are:
Brand USA Board Chair
- John Edman, director of Explore Minnesota
Brand USA Vice Chair
- Mark Hoplamazian, president and chief executive officer of Hyatt Hotels Corporation
Brand USA Treasurer
- Kyle Edmiston, president and CEO, Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau
Additional members
- Paul Brown, co-founder & chief executive officer, Inspire Brands
- Mike Gallagher, co-chairman and co-founder of CityPASS
- Noel Irwin Hentschel, chairman and chief executive officer of American Tours International, LLC
“With the future of our public-private partnership secure, we are honored to welcome these new leaders to the Brand USA board of directors and look forward to benefitting from their sound advice and guidance,” said Christopher L. Thompson, president and CEO of Brand USA. “The individual and combined expertise of the board will be particularly important in 2020 as we lay the foundation for the next seven years of driving international visitation to the United States to create jobs and economic growth across the nation.”
Brand USA employs a combination of brand marketing, public relations, travel trade outreach, and cooperative marketing programs to promote all 50 states, five territories, and the District of Columbia and increase travel to the United States.
According to studies by Oxford Economics, over the past six years, Brand USA’s marketing initiatives have helped welcome 6.6 million incremental visitors to the USA, benefiting the U.S. economy with more than $21.8 billion in total economic impact and supporting, on average, nearly 52,000 incremental U.S. jobs a year.
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