Michael Fetter has been hired as the director of marketing in the Marketing Communications department for the Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Before coming to the bureau, Fetter was a media buyer for Bandy Carroll Hellige (BCH), as well as a marketing manager for Phoenix Process Equipment Company where he oversaw all strategic marketing and communications plans.

Fetter returned to BCH in 2016 as an account manager, with the Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau among his clients.

He graduated Cum Laude from the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Science in Integrated Strategic Communications and a minor in Business. Fetter will start March 26 at the bureau.

The Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau recently promoted Mallory Cappelli to convention sales manager in the Convention Development Department.

She replaces Allison Joyce who was promoted in February. Cappelli has been with the bureau in a convention sales assistant role since July 2016.

In this position, she will pursue meetings with 300 peak nights and below for the corporate, agriculture, fraternal, public affairs, veterans, and military/family/class reunions.

UF, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, recently has welcomed Monika Fourneaux-Ceskova as the new marketing and communications manager to the UFI team in Paris.

Fourneaux-Ceskova takes over the role from Angela Herberholz, who has managed UFI’s marketing and communications activities for the past three years, and who is taking on a new position within UFI as program manager.

Fourneaux-Ceskova brings extensive experience in marketing and communications. For the past eight years, she has been responsible for the exhibition and marketing activities of an international broadcast technology solutions provider, Ateme.

Herberholz will continue her journey with UFI as program manager. In her new role, Herberholz will focus mainly on coordinating and supporting the work of the various working committees to aid them in their global development, while also leading and driving projects in UFI’s education programmes.

Ceasars Entertainment Corporation has hired Lisa Gray Messina as vice president of Sales.

Messina will be responsible for leading the Caesars Entertainment sales strategy for meetings and events globally.

This will include the oversight and coordination of all Meeting and Convention Sales, and all direct and inside sales efforts in the regions and at the properties.

“With Lisa’s veteran experience in hospitality, sales and meetings, coupled with her tenure at reputable and international brands, we are thrilled to welcome her to the Caesars family and bring her talent, expertise and leadership to our Caesars Meetings team,” said Chief Sales Officer Michael Massari.

Messina has more than 20 years of leadership sales experience at international hospitality brands and was most recently executive director, Intermediary Group Sales Hilton Worldwide in Las Vegas, leading a team of sales directors and managing key intermediary customers to achieve the annual revenue goals.

Jon Borschow, chairman of the newly established Puerto Rico Destination Marketing Organization (“Corporación para la Promoción de Puerto Rico como Destino”), announced that Brad Dean has been appointed as CEO of the new DMO, effective late April 2018.

The private, not-for-profit DMO was created in March 2017 through bi-partisan legislation that provides a $25 million annual investment to manage all global marketing, sales and promotion of Puerto Rico in collaboration with local government and tourism partners.

The legislation reflects the government’s philosophy of transferring more responsibilities to the private sector to improve Puerto Rico’s economic development initiatives.

“Brad has an impressive track record of revenue growth, destination marketing, product development and community-building, both in the public and private sectors,” said Borschow.

He added, “He is a proactive and influential leader with nearly 25 successful years in the travel, tourism, meetings, and hospitality industry, and we are delighted to have him as our CEO.” Most recently, Dean served as the president and CEO of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce for 15 years.

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