SearchWide Leading Top Search for Visit Sun Valley
October 14, 2016 – Executive recruiting firm SearchWide has been tapped by Visit Sun Valley to lead its search for an executive director. Vice president Nicole Newman is leading the assignment.
SearchWide said that Visit Sun Valley is looking for someone with leadership experience in brand strategy, strategic planning, budgeting, research and analysis.
The Position
The executive director role is responsible for the day-today management of Visit Sun Valley, providing direction in all efforts related to increasing awareness and visitation of Sun Valley. The incumbent will lead strategic planning efforts for the organization, including the annual completion of a strategic and operational plan, encompassing the development of goals, objectives, strategies and tactics. The incoming director will also provide quarterly reports to key stakeholders on progress towards annual targets as identified in the strategic and operational plan and in contracts for services.
According to Visit Sun Valley, the organization is seeking a leader with more than five years of senior executive experience in destination marketing, preferably including mountain resorts. Knowledge of the Sun Valley area would also be a key asset.
Visit Sun Valley is the destination marketing organization for the Sun Valley region and actively leads the effort in tourism development and promotion of local businesses as a means of stimulating community economic vitality. The organization was originally founded as the Sun Valley Marketing Alliance in 1973 to perform traditional Chamber of Commerce functions.
A Leader In Travel & Hospitality Search
SearchWide is a full service executive search firm dedicated to the travel, tourism & convention, and hotel & lodging industries. It specializes in C-level, director and management level searches for Fortune 500 corporations to mid-sized public and private companies.
The firm recently filled chief executive officer positions for Visit Baltimore, the Greater Newark Convention Center & Visitors Bureau, Visit West Hollywood, Kentucky State Fair Board, and the Gatlinburg Convention & Visitors Bureau. SearchWide is currently engaged in searches for top leaders at the Macon-Bibb County Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.
Ms. Newmann works in all sectors of the hospitality and travel industry. Her experience in group sales, catering and event planning, according to clients, gives her a unique perspective on executive level recruitment.
An Industry Rebounding
After taking a massive hit during the Great Recession, employment and hiring within the hotel and hospitality industry has begun to rebound. In the last year, according to one set of survey metrics, the industry added 527,000 jobs (2.6 million since 2004). That number is forecasted to increase in 2016, as global tourism and traveling in general are expected to rise.
As such, the travel and hospitality market is estimated to generate an annual economic impact of $6.5 trillion worldwide this year. In the U.S. alone the $1.5 trillion industry accounts for nearly eight million jobs – more than five percent of total jobs across the country.
Search Firms Stepping Up
A number of leading hospitality companies have turned to executive search firms in recent months to find new leaders — with skill sets ranging from finance and global brand management to sales, digital and M&A. Here is a look at a few assignments that are either recently completed or currently underway from the Hunt Scanlon Media newswire archives:
- Spencer Stuart has been retained by FelCor Lodging Trust Incorporated to lead its search for a new chief executive officer. FelCor is a real estate investment trust which owns a diversified portfolio of primarily upper-upscale and luxury hotels that are located in major and resort markets throughout the U.S.
- Ruby Tuesday has retained Heidrick & Struggles to begin a search for a permanent president and CEO. Ruby Tuesday owns and franchises Ruby Tuesday brand restaurants. As of August, there were 615 Ruby Tuesday restaurants in 42 states, 14 foreign countries, and Guam. Its corporate-owned and operated restaurants are concentrated primarily in the southeast, northeast, mid-Atlantic, and Midwest.
- Egon Zehnder recruited Olivier Chavy as chief executive officer of Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts. Mr. Chavy is a veteran of the hospitality industry with a 28-year track record in hotel operations and brand management. He was formerly international head, global brand performance of luxury & lifestyle brands, for Hilton Worldwide. Mövenpick is an international upscale hotel management company with over 16,000 staff members. It is represented in 24 countries with 83 hotels, resorts and Nile cruisers currently in operation.
- AETHOS Consulting Group has been retained by Red Lion Hotels Corporation to lead its search for a chief financial officer. Red Lion Hotels is a hospitality company primarily engaged in the franchising, management and ownership of upscale, midscale and economy hotels under the Hotel RL, Red Lion Hotel, Red Lion Inn & Suites, GuestHouse International and Settle Inn brands. Established in 1959, the company has 124 hotels system-wide and also owns and operates an entertainment and event ticket distribution business.
- The Elliott Group placed David A. Pace as president and chief executive officer of Jamba, Inc. Mr. Pace comes to Jamba from restaurant-chain operator Bloomin’ Brands, where he was EVP and president of that company’s Carrabba’s Italian Grill division. Jamba operates the Jamba Juice chain, a leading outlet for blended fruit drinks with more than 800 smoothie stands throughout the U.S. and in a handful of other countries.
Contributed by Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor, Hunt Scanlon Media