SITE任命临时CEO、1stAveMachine成立体验部门、Brand USA迎来新临时CEO

GLOBAL: Clarion Events announced that it is being acquired by Informa, a leading international B2B live events group, bringing together two highly complementary organizations with a shared commitment to growth, innovation, and customer value. The combination will create new opportunities to accelerate growth across the portfolio, expand into priority markets, further develop data and digital capabilities, and enhance the value delivered to customers, partners, and the industries that both organizations serve.

JW Marriott, part of Marriott Bonvoy’s portfolio of over 30 hotel brands, announced the highly anticipated opening of JW Marriott Costa Elena Resort & Spa, marking a significant milestone as the brand’s first-ever all-inclusive resort worldwide. The property is located along Costa Rica’s pristine northern Pacific coast and offers 415 guest rooms. It also debuts the brand’s next-generation Griffin Club, a private resort-within-a-resort experience. The resort boasts more than 9,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor event space, including an oceanfront ballroom and open-air venues framed by the natural beauty of Playa El Jobo.

CHICAGO: The Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) has appointed Rebecca Wright as interim CEO. The appointment follows a comprehensive process led by SITE’s executive committee and affirmed by the SITE international board of directors. Wright succeeds Annette Gregg and will lead the association while a separate search for a permanent CEO takes place. A former chapter leader and president of SITE Chicago, Wright joined SITE as head of chapter engagement in January 2020 and previously served as interim CEO between October 2020 and November 2022.

NEW YORK: 1stAveMachine, a production company known for bringing filmmaking, design, and emerging technology together for brands, is expanding into experiential with the launch of a dedicated new division, led by Jessica DeVirgilis, who joins the company as executive producer. The new division will draw on 1stAveMachine’s existing network of directors, designers, artists, and technologists, while expanding that collective with talent specifically focused on experiential work. At launch, that broader team will include hybrid design studio EspadaySantacruz and experiential director Erin Beaupre, alongside collaborators across the company’s creative and production network.

WASHINGTON, D.C.: Brand USA, the destination marketing organization for the U.S., announced that its board of directors has appointed Caroline Beteta as interim president and CEO, effective Nov. 9. Beteta, who retired in September after nearly three decades as president and CEO of Visit California, brings extensive tourism leadership experience and a longstanding connection to Brand USA, including previous service as chair of its board of directors and acting CEO. Beteta succeeds Fred Dixon, who will depart Brand USA on Nov. 13 after more than two years as president and CEO. He returns to New York City as president and CEO of NYC Tourism + Conventions on Dec. 1.

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