July 11, 2008
SEATTLE'S CONVENTION AND VISITORS BUREAU ANNOUNCES TOM NORWALK AS NEW PRESIDENT & CEO
Seattleite and Industry Veteran to Lead Region's Growing Tourism Industry
SEATTLE - Seattle's Convention and Visitors Bureau (SCVB) announced the appointment of Tom Norwalk as President & CEO, succeeding Don Welsh, who resigned last month to assume the role of president at the Indianapolis Convention & Visitors Association.
Effective July 25, Norwalk will manage 45 employees in SCVB's main Seattle office as well as sales offices in Washington, D.C. and Chicago, and will oversee all of the bureau's operations, sales and marketing, finance and budget management and business development.
Norwalk is a tourism industry veteran of more than 25 years with extensive hotel, attraction, destination management and convention and visitors bureau experience.
As SCVB Senior Vice President Sales & Marketing since 2005, Norwalk has overseen the bureau's convention sales, marketing and membership departments. During his tenure, he stimulated growth in Seattle's convention sales and led city-wide hosting efforts for the Professional Convention Management Association's highly-coveted annual meeting in January 2008.
Between 2002 and 2005, Norwalk was President and Managing Director of Seattle Hospitality Group, LLC, Seattle's leading destination management company.
From 1981 to 2001, Norwalk served in sales and marketing positions with Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts. During that time, he was the director of marketing for Four Seasons properties in San Francisco, Vancouver, B.C. and Seattle, working proactively with convention and visitor bureaus in all three cities. He served as Director of Marketing of the Four Seasons Olympic Hotel in Seattle from 1993 to 2001, and served concurrently at the Four Seasons corporate level as Regional Director of Hotel Marketing where he oversaw ten properties in the Western U.S. and Hawaii.
From 2001 to 2002, Norwalk was the general manager of The Golf Club at Newcastle, a $75 million luxury public golf facility in suburban Seattle.
"Tom brings a wealth of tourism knowledge and marketing expertise to this critical post, as well as an abiding commitment to Seattle and the Pacific Northwest," said Craig Schafer, Chair of the SCVB Board of Directors. "He has been closely and passionately involved in all of SCVB's initiatives and we are certain that he will keep the momentum going. With Tom at the helm, we're not skipping a beat."
"The Washington State Convention & Trade Center congratulates Tom on his new role and we look forward to growing our partnership with SCVB under his leadership," said Frank K. Finneran, Chairman of the convention center's Board of Directors. "Tom's experience will be a real asset in drawing new business to Seattle."
Norwalk began his career in 1976 in the catering and banquets division for the Washington Plaza Hotel in Seattle, which later became the flagship property for Westin Hotels and Resorts.
A Seattle native, Norwalk earned a bachelor's degree in communications from Washington State University. He and his wife, Linda, have three children and reside in Bothell, WA. Norwalk is a past board member of Seattle Rotary and the current board chair of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Alaska, Montana, Northern Idaho and Washington.
Seattle's Convention and Visitors Bureau is a non-profit economic development agency responsible for competitively marketing Seattle as a destination for meeting and convention groups and leisure travelers. Some 9.4 million visitors spend $4.75 billion in Seattle and King County annually, contributing $419 million in state and local tax revenues. Direct visitor spending benefits hotels, retailers, restaurants, attractions, transportation services and other businesses and supports jobs for nearly 60,000 people in the Seattle region.
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