Executive Position Description, Visit Duluth

8/13/2019 Executive Position Description, Visit Duluth

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Executive Position Description

President & CEO

www.VisitDuluth.com

On behalf of our client, Visit Duluth, KeyStone Search is conducting a retained searchfor a President & CEO.

www.keystonesearch.com
http://www.visitduluth.com/http://www.visitduluth.com/http://www.keystonesearch.com/http://www.keystonesearch.com/http://www.keystonesearch.com/http://www.visitduluth.com/


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Visit DuluthPresident & CEO

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About Duluth

Duluth, Minnesota is a city for all seasons. It has been rated by Moneymagazine asone of the top four Midwestern small cities, based on livability and Outside Magazine

ranks it in the Top 10 Outdoor Towns in the U.S. and a Top 10 Dream Town. Duluthis located at the westernmost point of the Great Lakes on the north shore of LakeSuperior, halfway between Minneapolis/St. Paul and the Canadian border, The Cityserves as the county seat of St. Louis County and has a population of over 86,000and 184,000 within a 30 mile radius.

Tourism's annual direct economic impact is more than three-quarters-of-a-billiondollars while 3.5 million visitors are attracted here each year employing over 18,000persons from entry level to top management directly supported by visitorexpenditures.

Duluth is home to the College of St. Scholastica, the University of Minnesota Duluth,Lake Superior Community College, Fond du Lac Community College and across thebay, the University of Wisconsin-Superior.

As the worlds largest, farthest-inland seaport, more than 1,000 vessels arrive in theport each year. The Aerial Lift Bridge is Duluths most famous landmark.


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In June, Grandmas Marathon, one of the largest marathons in the U.S., features abeautiful point-to-point course that starts just outside of Two Harbors and runs alonga 26.2 mile stretch of the scenic north shore of Lake Superior. In July, the majesticTall Ships arrive and dock along the waterfront, Bayfront Festival Park and Harbor

Drive.

There is something to do any time of the year. Golfing, skiing, hiking, biking, skating,fishing, snowmobiling, sailing, Duluth has more parks and green space, 11,000acres, than any U.S. city.

In addition to the citys rugged charm, it is a cultural center that boasts a far fromordinary level of outstanding fine art and performance offerings. Some of the venuesinclude The Duluth Playhouse, Zeitgeist Arts, Duluth Art Institute or any number ofperforming venues on the campus of the University of Minnesota Duluth and TheCollege of St. Scholastica. The Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra performs atthe DECCs Symphony Hall.The Bayfront Blues Festival is one of the largest annual

outdoor music events in the Upper Midwest.Meetings, Conventions & Sporting Events

There are 4,600 hotel rooms in the city and 50 restaurants in the downtown area.Meeting planners have several options for hosting a successful meeting orconvention, including hotels and the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center(DECC).www.decc.org
http://www.decc.org/http://www.decc.org/http://www.decc.org/http://www.decc.org/


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The beautiful Harbor Side Convention Center boasts a 28,000 sq ft ballroom thatoverlooks Lake Superior. Overall, the DECC includes two ballrooms, 30 meetingrooms and over 100,000 sq ft of exhibit space to host conventions, trade shows andcommunity events.

The Arena portion of the complex houses is the home to the University of MinnesotaDuluth Bulldog hockey teams and was the site of the NCAA Division I Men's hockeychampionships in both 1968 and 1981 and 2003, 2008 and 2012 Women's NCAADivision I Frozen Four.

A spacious lobby, where ticket sales originate, separates the Arena from SymphonyHall. Symphony Hall seats 2,221 and is home to both the Duluth Superior SymphonyOrchestra and Minnesota Ballet. Symphony Hall also plays host to concerts,Broadway plays, operas, dance recitals, high school graduations and a variety ofother activities.

The 2008 Minnesota bonding bill included $38 million for the "DECC expansionproject". The DECC expansion includes a new hockey arena for the UMD mens andwomens teams, which increases seating capacity by 2,100. The project alsoincluded a 475-car expansion to the DECC's parking ramp.

Organization Background

Visit Duluth, the city's convention and visitors bureau, is the official destinationmarketing organization of Duluth, Minnesota. Visit Duluth is a revenue generator forthe city of Duluth and its residents. Founded in 1935, it constitutes the tourismindustry hub in the community. Visit Duluth represents nearly 450 members and is

governed by a 18-person board of directors, with an annual budget of $2.1 mil.Dedicated to promoting the area as one of America's great vacation and meetingdestinations, Visit Duluth provides comprehensive, unbiased information to alltravelers. Hundreds of small, local businesses which are unable to mount effectivepromotions on their own rely on Visit Duluth's collective advertising and sales efforts.

Visit Duluth's efforts have successfully positioned Duluth as Lake Superior's familydestination. These branding strategies are working. In the past decade, Duluthtourism has surpassed state and national growth rates by more than two times forthe same period.

Leisure Travel Marketing

Visit Duluth excels at cost-effective awareness through media exposure andpromotion and is an industry leader, defining the Duluth destination experience.The Duluth brand is the result of a comprehensive and carefully executedstrategy encompassing the entire destination experience reflecting visitor needsand expectations.


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Convention Sales/Sports MarketingVisit Duluth spearheads Duluth's convention sales and sports marketing initiatives.Our team markets the DECC, meeting facilities and sporting venues to national,regional and state planners, generating a $30 million economic impact.

Group Tours/Packaged Travel/CruiseVisit Duluth draws motorcoach and school groups to Duluth each year creatinga $1 million direct impact. In addition, this department assists with cruiselogistics in the emerging Great Lakes cruising market.

Public RelationsVisit Duluth actively cultivates our message to national, regional and internationalmedia through familiarization tours, press kits, newswires and new initiativesgenerating over $5 million in editorial coverage each year.

Special EventsVisit Duluth creates, produces, promotes and supports an almost endless list ofmajor events and activities throughout the year including coordinating the scheduleof over 500 events with collective direct economic impacts worth several tens ofmillions of dollars to the Duluth economy. Visit Duluth is the driving force and fiscalagent for bringing tall ships to Duluth.

Visit Duluth also operates two information centers one at the headquarters location,21 West Superior Street, the other on Harbor Drive.

Overview of the Position

Reporting to the Board of Directors, the President & CEO is responsible for businessoperations and implementation of strategy, including management of the assets ofVisit Duluth; staffing; and for establishing and maintaining the business organizationand structure to efficiently conduct the functions of the organization. This highlyvisible position will interface with key community, civic, government, media andtourism leaders to represent the organization and the positive impact that tourism andconventions have on Duluth. He/she is expected to be a strong leader that can builda consensus across the City and emerge as the key link in leveraging promotionalresources through effective coordination. This requires building coalitions andpartnerships and enhancing the organizations capability to deliver effective results.The President & CEO sells the value of Visit Duluth to the community. The President

& CEO oversees a staff of eleven, along with other seasonal, part-time informationcenter representatives and convention registration/packaged travel hosts.

Organizational CultureVisit Duluth is used as a model of success in countless examples. Theorganization is proud to be described as having the ability "to turn on a dime,"responding proactively to ever changing market conditions and interacting withstakeholders in the style of a corporation. They also have a public trust and are


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accountability obsessed, demonstrating expenditures directly related to bringingmore revenues to Duluth.

The hospitality community is extremely grateful for the support from the cityadministration in moving forward with a three-year (2012-2014) agreementimproving the investment process for tourism promotion. The contract allows forlong-term planning enabling Duluth to more aggressively market itself as adestination.

Primary Responsibilities

Acts as a primary spokesperson for Visit Duluth; establishes and maintainsongoing effective communications with members, government leaders, businessand cultural institution leaders, convention and event planners, and the local andnational tourism industry; serves on committees and boards as strategically

defined. The President & CEO assesses the Visit Duluth staff, organizational structure,

business practices and resources ensuring optimum performance. He/sheproactively leads and manages the day-to-day operations, overseeing thedevelopment of a consistently high quality staff, efficient operating systems andprocedures, good communications and strong program management.

Actively engages in the process and efforts of development and sales ofconvention business into the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center and VisitDuluth members.

Maintains close and effective communications with the Mayor and his/her staff. Leads the development of an annual business strategy, manages the team to

achieve the goals and objectives contained within the marketing plan (sales,

marketing and communications initiatives), performance measures (i.e., drivingroom nights, generating revenue, managing expenses, striving for qualitycustomer service and increasing theater events, special events and other theateractivation opportunities), company goals and overall productivity of Senior Team.

Long-term strategic planning and financial management. The President & CEOreviews the Strategic Plan, rethinks the basic assumptions, performs research,refines the strategy if necessary and gains consensus.

Collaborates with the Senior Team to develop and implement plans for theoperational infrastructure, effective organizational processes/policies andappropriate human resources to support the strategic, as well as operational,objectives of the organization.

Attracts, recruits, trains, mentors and retains qualified members of the Senior

Team in an environment that provides for career development and individualachievement.

Provides leadership, direction and topline management to the employee team toensure that the mission and vision of Visit Duluth are successfully put intopractice and sustained.

Fosters a success-oriented, accountable environment within the organization byestablishing, communicating, implementing and enforcing appropriate standardsof performance.


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Ensures activities are implemented within established policies, guidelines, stateand Federal laws as well as the highest of ethical standards.

Develops and supervises the implementation of an annual operating andmarketing plan in order to promote the Duluth area to local, state, regional,national and international audiences. Regularly analyzes performance andresults of all functional areas within the organization relative to the establishedobjectives, insures appropriate steps are taken to correct any unsatisfactoryconditions and reports to the Board.

Coordinates the production of collateral materials to enhance the sale andmarketing of the Duluth area.

Oversees the preparation of the annual budget that supports Visit Duluth sactivities, including appropriate compensation and benefits structure for theemployee team, for Board approval.

Reviews financial reporting monthly to ensure the adequacy and soundness ofthe organizations financial position. Makes sure that the Board receives financialreporting on a monthly basis.

Represents Visit Duluth at selected local, state, regional, national andinternational conventions as well as other business meetings that serve to fosterthe success of Visit Duluths mission.

Maintains membership in good standing in the Destination Marketing AssociationInternational.

Optimize Visit Duluths governance structure and processes; provide leadership,support and liaison to the Board and executive committee.

Primary liaison between staff and Board in regard to policy implementation,reporting and strategic planning.

Provides the Board with an annual list of goals and individual key performanceindicators to assist the Executive Committees evaluation of the President andCEOs business and personal performance.

Performs other duties and accountabilities as assigned by the Board of Directors.

Qualifications

Previous hospitality/travel industry experience in a leadership role is veryimportant.

DMO, Convention Center and/or hotel experience preferred. Significant sales leadership experience. Knowledge of the meetings and tourism industry, its distribution channels, and its

customer base is critical. Management experience with full P&L responsibility. Demonstrated ability to build consensus with multiple stakeholder groups is a

must. Experience collaborating with elected officials and an understanding of public

affairs. Proven track record of customer service. Four year degree with a graduate degree preferred or acceptable equivalent

experience.


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Compensation

The compensation package for this position is competitive and attractive. It includes

an executive pay structure and participation in the organizations comprehensivebenefits plan.

Contact

Confidential contacts or nominations may be made to:

Bob Schoenbaum or Lisa CurtinPrincipal Principal612-375-8898 [email protected] [email protected]

Because Culture Matters

KeyStone Search is a prominent Minnesota-based executive search firm with a special emphasison corporate culture fit. KeyStone Search has specialized expertise in the recruitment of C-Suite

leaders in general management, sales/marketing, financial, technical/operations, and humanresources as well as non-profit executives.

eyStone Search105 Fifth Avenue South

Crown Roller Mill Suite 512Minneapolis, MN 55401

612-375-8900www.keystonesearch.com
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.keystonesearch.com/http://www.keystonesearch.com/http://www.keystonesearch.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

Executive Position Description, Visit Duluth

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