The Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board (LA Tourism), the Californian city’s destination marketing organization, added a member.
New Chief Administrative Officer Tom Mullen now oversees all operating functions, including finance, human resources, and member and visitor relations. He is also responsible for new business development.
“Tom is a sharp, strategic executive with strong management skills. He has quickly navigated our industry landscape, and I am confident he will provide strong oversight of our day-to-day operations and a focused resolve to drive our new business development efforts to greater heights,” said Ernest Wooden Jr., president and CEO, LA Tourism.
A seasoned travel and retail executive, Mullen joined LA Tourism in June 2013 as senior vice president, Strategic Alliances. Prior to that, he spent more than 20 years with American Express Travel Related Services Inc. in a variety of positions, including vice president, Sales and Account Development, Merchant Services America, where he managed more than 1,600 merchant relationships throughout Los Angeles, Northern California and Hawaii; general manager, Travel Services, Hawaii, Guam and Micronesia; director, Merchant Services, Hawaii; manager, Business Development and Strategic Planning; manager, Finance & Administration; and financial analyst.
Very involved with the Los Angeles travel industry, Mullen served two terms as chairman of LA Tourism’s board of directors from 2009-2013.
He has also been active throughout the tourism industry at large, serving on the board of directors of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Board, where he was also chairman and headed the North American Marketing Committee; the San Francisco Travel Association; the Hawaii Hotel Association; the Hawaii Restaurant Association; the Oahu Visitors Bureau; and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Hawaii Chapter. In 1998, he co-founded the Hawaii Culinary Education Foundation and has chaired the organization since its inception.
Mullen received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in Honolulu.
