St. Louis convention bureau hires new CEO

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ST. LOUIS — A new leader has been named head of St. Louis’ tourism bureau, it announced Wednesday.

Brad Dean, former CEO of Discover Puerto Rico, will start at the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission effective Feb. 17.

Dean takes over from attorney Robert Wallace, who has served as the commission’s interim leader since early August, when longtime president Kitty Ratcliffe retired roughly 10 months before her contract expired, and in the middle of a troubled expansion of the downtown convention center. Ratcliffe had served for 18 years.

Dean starts at an important time for the authority as it looks to push past an expansion truncated by cost overruns, and hotel room bookings struggling to recover from the pandemic.

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The authority got some good news on the bookings front late last year, when it announced its sales team had booked 460,000 room nights for fiscal 2024. That was still down 12% from fiscal 2019, but it marked a significant improvement from the previous year, when bookings were almost 45% below pre-pandemic figures.

On Wednesday, Steve O’Loughlin, chairman of the commission board, highlighted Dean’s experience in attracting new visitors and driving economic growth. Dean will lead the efforts of the bureau, which calls itself Explore St. Louis, in attracting visitors, conventions, concerts and events to America’s Center and The Dome.

“Brad’s impressive track record of success in destination marketing and his deep understanding of the tourism and convention industry make him the ideal leader to take Explore St. Louis to the next level,” O’Loughlin said in a press release.

Puerto Rico saw growth in tourism, economic impact and destination recognition under Dean’s direction, the release said. He worked to attract travelers to Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria which hit in 2017.

Prior to that, Dean was president and CEO of the Myrtle Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau for 20 years, where he helped increase visitor numbers and expanded tourism infrastructure. Dean graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in accounting and finance.

“I am energized by the momentum building and inspired by limitless opportunities to elevate St. Louis as a premier destination for visitors while strengthening the sense of community that makes this region so special,” Dean said in a statement.

“Together, we will celebrate what sets St. Louis apart, cultivate strategic partnerships to realize our shared vision and ensure the visitor economy serves as a catalyst for economic growth and quality of life,” he continued.

Executive search firm Searchwide Global helped with the search.

Austin Huguelet of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.

View life in (snowy) St. Louis through the Post-Dispatch photographers' lenses. Edited by Jenna Jones.

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