Brand USA Newsletter - April 2019

Brand USA Announces New and Reappointed Members and Approves Committee Assignments

Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the United States, has announced the appointment of three new board members and the reappointment of one existing member to the Brand USA board of directors. Appointments to the Brand USA board of directors are made by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce in consultation with the U.S. Secretary of State and the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, as provided for in the Travel Promotion, Enhancement, and Modernization Act of 2014. The newly appointed and reappointed members include:

Paul Brown, co-founder & chief executive officer, Inspire Brands (newly appointed, representing the restaurant sector)

Kristen Branscum, commissioner, Kentucky Department of Tourism (newly appointed, representing the official of a state tourism office sector)

Kyle Edmiston, chief operating officer, Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau (reappointed, representing the official of a city convention & visitors bureau sector having previously represented the official of a state tourism office)

Mark Hoplamazian, president and chief executive officer of Hyatt Hotels Corporation (newly appointed, representing the hotel accommodations sector)

Brand USA is governed by an 11-member board of directors appointed for a maximum of two consecutive three-year terms. The appointed members join a body of existing board members who represent the tourism industry’s various sectors and work together to provide leadership and overall guidance and direction to aid Brand USA’s mission and operations.

“The Brand USA board of directors welcomes and looks forward to the insight, expertise, and knowledge of our new members, who are distinguished and accomplished leaders of our industry. We are also pleased that our work to promote travel to and through the United States will continue to benefit from the reappointment of board member Kyle Edmiston,” said Barbara Richardson, Brand USA board chair and chief of external relations for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). “And of course, we extend our most sincere gratitude and well wishes to Arne Sorenson, Maryann Ferenc, and Rossi Ralenkotter for their years of service and leadership on the board.”

“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 Chris Thompson, president and CEO of Brand USA. “The board is truly exemplary in their individual and combined expertise and I am confident that together, we can continue to meet and exceed our goals of driving international visitation to the United States, and creating jobs and economic growth across the nation.”

The newly appointed and reappointed board members convened with the current board members at recent board committee meetings and the quarterly board meeting on March 13, 2019 where they approved members to officiating positions and committees.
 
The confirmed committee assignments are as follows:
 
Finance Committee 
Chair: Kyle Edmiston, deputy director/chief operations officer for Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau
Committee Members

  • John Edman, director of Explore Minnesota
  • Noel Irwin Hentschel, chairman and chief executive officer of AmericanTours International, LLC
  • Mark Hoplamazian, president and chief executive officer of Hyatt Hotels Corporation
  • Alice Norsworthy, chief marketing officer of Universal Parks & Resorts
  • Barbara Richardson, chief of external relations of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro)

 
Conflict of Interest Committee  
Chair: Tom O’Toole, senior fellow and clinical professor of marketing at the Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University 
Committee Members

  • Andrew Greenfield, managing partner of the Washington, DC office of Fragomen
  • Barbara Richardson

Audit Committee 
Chair: Tom O’Toole
Committee Members

  • Paul Brown, chief executive officer of Inspire Brands
  • Noel Irwin Hentschel

 
Governance & Nominating Committee 
Chair: Andrew Greenfield
Committee Members

  • John Edman
  • Mike Gallagher, co-chairman and co-founder of CityPASS

 
Marketing Committee
Chair: Alice Norsworthy
Committee Members

  • Kristen Branscum, commissioner of Kentucky Department of Tourism
  • Paul Brown
  • Kyle Edmiston
  • Mike Gallagher
  • Noel Irwin Hentschel
  • Tom O’Toole

Full recordings of the board meetings can be found here. For more information about the newly appointed members, please access the press announcement here. A complete list of the board of directors and their bios is available here. The next board meeting will take place on Wednesday, May 22, 2019.
 
Thank you to all staff, board members, partners, and stakeholders for their continued support.
 
Together, we are marketing the USA!