Chris Connelly joins the Visit Seattle team as the senior director of sales where he will oversee the day-to-day activities of the Convention Sales team. Chris arrives at Visit Seattle with a strong reputation as a dedicated hospitality sales professional of 11 years after a number of roles at Hyatt’s properties in Chicago, San Francisco, and San Diego. Most recently, Chris was the Area Director of Group & Transient Sales at Hyatt’s three downtown Seattle locations: the Hyatt Regency, the Grand Hyatt, and Hyatt Olive 8. An Illinois native and Purdue University graduate, Chris enjoys traveling, baseball, and sampling the Pacific Northwest’s renowned beer scene.“After 11 years as a hospitality sales professional, I’m excited to bring my experience and skills to Visit Seattle as a Senior Director of Sales. I’ve had the privilege of working extensively with the Visit Seattle team in my current role and can’t wait to join what is already an organization of intelligent and deeply passionate professionals. I’ve been captivated with the culture, beauty, and attitude of Seattle since moving here in 2020 and will work hard in my new role to ensure travelers & attendees have every opportunity to experience our beautiful city,” says Connelly.
Jared Dionne joins the Visit Seattle team as the public relations manager for meetings and conventions press. In this role, he works alongside publications, the Seattle Convention Center and Visit Seattle leadership to convey the importance of meetings as economic drivers and methods of genuine connection. A communications professional with over a decade of journalism and public relations experience, Jared was previously the Senior Director of Publicity at London-based record label Mute where he led campaigns for artists such as New Order, M83, Depeche Mode’s Martin Gore, Fever Ray, Yann Tiersen, and Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo. Jared is a native Rhode Islander and Ithaca College graduate who loves the Boston Bruins and sunset walks along Seattle’s Alki Beach.“I am thrilled to be a part of this wickedly talented Visit Seattle team. The knowledge, passion, and commitment my colleagues display for the city is inspiring. I came to Seattle as a visitor in 2019 and was immediately drawn to the city’s fantastic cultural offerings, maritime heritage, and limitless access to mountains, forests, and islands. Choosing to call this place “home” was an easy decision. It is an exciting time to be working in the meetings and conventions sphere. Seattle Convention Center recently opened the Summit building, a Waterfront reimagining is under way, and we have an incredible lineup of creative, innovation-driven meetings on the calendar. I look forward to working alongside Visit Seattle’s team and our partners to showcase Seattle at its absolute best,” says Dionne.
