The newly appointed and re-appointed board members will convene with the current board members at upcoming board committee meetings and the next quarterly board meeting on May 2.
WASHINGTON – Brand USA, the destination-marketing organization for the United States, has announced the appointment of two new board members and the reappointment of one existing member to the Brand USA board of directors. The appointments were made by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Secretary of Homeland Security as provided for in the Travel Promotion, Enhancement, and Modernization Act of 2014.
The newly appointed and reappointed members include:
- John Edman, director, Explore Minnesota Tourism (reappointment, representing the state tourism office sector).
- Noel Irwin Hentschel, chairman and chief executive officer, AmericanTours International (new appointment, representing the travel distribution services sector)
- Mike Gallagher, co-founder and co-chairman CityPASS (new appointment, representing the small business sector).
The new board appointees join a group of tourism industry leaders each with designated expertise in specific sectors of the travel industry including: hotel accommodations; restaurants; small business or retail or in associations representing that sector; travel distribution; attractions or recreations; state-level tourism office; city-level convention and visitors bureau; passenger air; land or sea transportation; and immigration law and policy.
"We are very fortunate to have talented industry leaders like Noel Hentschel and Mike Gallagher join us in the mission of promoting and attracting greater international tourism to generate jobs and export dollars for the USA," said Barbara Richardson, chief of external relations for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) and Brand USA board chair. "We are also pleased to continue to benefit from the experience and expertise of John Edman for another term. Finally, we thank Tom Klein and Daniel Halpern for their many years of service on the board. Their contributions to Brand USA since its founding built a strong foundation that ensures Brand USA's long-term success and economic return to our country."
The newly appointed and re-appointed board members will convene with the current board members at upcoming board committee meetings and the next quarterly board meeting on May 2. The current officers of the Brand USA board of directors are:
- Chair: Barbara Richardson, chief of external relations for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro)
- Vice Chair: Kyle Edmiston, deputy director/chief operations officer for Lake Charles/Southwest Louisiana Convention and Visitors Bureau
- Vice Chair: John Edman, director, Explore Minnesota Tourism
- Secretary: Andrew Greenfield, managing partner, Washington, DC office, Fragomen
- Treasurer: Arne Sorenson, president and CEO of Marriott International, Inc.
"We look forward to working with Noel and Mike as the newest members of Brand USA's board of directors. Both are industry leaders from successful industry organizations," said Christopher L. Thompson, president and CEO of Brand USA. "Each brings to the board a unique level of insight as we continue to fuel the nation's economy by driving international tourism to the USA. Their perspectives, combined with John's ongoing contributions, will be valuable assets to the board."
Thompson also acknowledged the contributions of outgoing board members Tom Klein, former president and CEO of Sabre, and Daniel Halpern, CEO and co-founder, Jackmont Hospitality. He noted: "Tom and Daniel have provided invaluable leadership and guidance to Brand USA since our early days as the destination marketing organization for the United States. We are eternally grateful for their commitment and contributions from our formative years to today, which has left a lasting positive mark on the organization. As founding board members and past chairs of the board, they each helped build Brand USA into what it is, and I am confident the foundation they helped set will serve us well in our future growth."
Brand USA deploys a number of marketing platforms and programs to increase inbound visitor travel to the United States and drive tourism dollars to communities in all 50 states, five territories, and the District of Columbia, as well as to promote tourism to, through, and beyond the gateways. To accomplish this, Brand USA utilizes a combination of brand marketing, public relations, travel trade outreach, and cooperative marketing programs that provide opportunities for partners of all types and sizes to participate.
According to studies by Oxford Economics, over the past four years Brand USA's marketing initiatives have helped welcome 4.3 million incremental visitors to the USA, benefiting the U.S. economy with nearly $30 billion in total economic impact, and have supported, on average, 51,000 incremental jobs a year.
According to the U.S. Travel Association, international travel to the United States is the country's top services export and supports 1.8 million American jobs (directly and indirectly) and benefits virtually every sector of the U.S. economy.
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
