Black Meetings and Tourism

July / August 2018

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The Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) has named Julie Calvert its new president and chief executive officer. Calvert is current- ly the founder and executive director of Source Cincinnati and returns to the CVB where she served as a senior exec- utive from 2001-2016. The announcement was made by CVB board chair Jim McGraw and comes after a months-long search by Minneapolis-based SearchWide, fol- lowing the retirement of former CEO Dan Lincoln in December. "This position has an opportunity to shape the vision of the Cincinnati desti- nation for decades to come, and we had to get it absolutely right," said McGraw. "With Julie, we get a leader with a proven track record of driving destina- tion reputation and economic impact. We get a passionate advocate for our region who understands our business, government and civic landscapes and how to mobilize the decision- makers who guide them. Moreover, we get an expert strategist who appreciates the power of collaboration and creative problem-solv- ing to move the Cincinnati region forward." Calvert has spent her career developing and executing strate- gies that drive awareness, build reputation, mobilize resources and spark economic vitality in the Cincinnati region. She founded Source Cincinnati in 2014 to connect the region with national media and elevate the "Cincinnati Story" into the global spotlight. Since its launch, Source, supported by the region's business, civic and arts organizations, has produced hundreds of stories in outlets like the New York Times, USA Today, The Atlantic and Black Enterprise reaching more than a billion people and working to attract talent, visitors and investment to Cincinnati. "Cincinnati has always had a great story to tell. But more than five years ago, it was Julie who had the vision to create an initiative dedicated to telling our story in a game- changing way," said Scott Robertson, board chair, Source Cincinnati. "Source has elevated Cincinnati at the national and international levels in ways we can't even measure. Now she takes that expe- rience, passion and vision to the CVB, and our destination couldn't be in better hands." Prior to that, Calvert served as vice president of communications and strate- gic development for the Cincinnati USA CVB. While there, she was the driving force behind the CVB's national market- ing, communications and reputation- building strategies and was instrumental in the Bureau's years-long record-setting results in attracting and hosting some of the world's most high-profile conven- tions and events. During her tenure, Calvert oversaw the CVB's communica- tions, media, membership, stakeholder communications, community relations and organizational development departments. "Cincinnati has never had a stronger national and global repu- tation, and much of that is due to Julie's incredible leadership at Source Cincinnati and the CVB," said Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley. "Julie has always had an extraordinary vision for elevat- ing Cincinnati as a world-class destination. As president of the CVB, she'll have an even larger platform to drive more awareness and impact for our entire region." As president and CEO of the CVB, Calvert will lead the region's destination marketing organization, maximizing the economic impact of the region's convention and meetings industry and leading an award-winning team to attract high volume, high impact groups to Cincinnati. Calvert will work closely with local civic, corporate and hospitality industry partners to further estab- lish and promote Cincinnati as a world-class meetings and tourism destination. B M & T ••• July/August 2018 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 10 N E W S M A K E R S CINCINNATI USA CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU NAMES JULIE CALVERT PRESIDENT & CEO Industry Leader and Executive Director of Source Cincinnati Takes the Helm of Region's Destination Marketing Organization With Focus on Collaboration, Transparency, Results and Inclusive Leadership

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