Tampa Bay & Company has announced that it has hired a vice president of marketing & communications.
Doug McClain is a tourism marketing executive with 20 years of regional and national destination marketing experience.
“Doug’s marketing background, along with the depth and breadth of industry experience that he brings to the table is truly remarkable,” said Kelly Miller, president/CEO of Tampa Bay & Company. “We are excited to have Doug as part of the Tampa Bay & Company team.”
Miller added that McClain fills the core values of what Tampa Bay & Company was looking for in its new vice president, including “an intimate knowledge of all facets of the Destination Marketing Organization world, as well as a thorough understanding of the marketing and branding process”.
McClain will start with Tampa Bay & Company on May 14, and he currently serves as director of marketing for the Kansas City Convention & Visitors Association (CVA). McClain’s extensive background in the hospitality industry includes Preferred Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, as well as the Kansas City CVA.
“I am extremely excited about the opportunity to join Tampa Bay & Company,” said McClain. “Tampa Bay is a destination that is moving in an amazing direction. It’s ready for its close-up, and I can’t wait to join forces with Tampa’s tourism community and turn this positive momentum into economic development for the region.”
“Tampa Bay & Company is fortunate to have an experienced marketing professional like Doug, and I’m confident that the company’s needs fall right in to his wheelhouse,” said Richard L. Hughes, CDME, president & CEO of the Kansas City CVA.
Prior to working with the Kansas City CVA, McClain worked as a marketing consultant in Kansas City, as well as the director of marketing & editorial and managing editor for Rand McNally & Company in Skokie, Ill.
McClain has Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia, as well as a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
