Cincinnati USA CVB Names Julie Calvert President & CEO
May 21, 2018
Julie Calvert, president & CEO
The Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) has named Julie Calvert its new president and chief executive officer. Calvert is currently the founder and executive director of Source Cincinnati and returns to the CVB where she served as a senior executive from 2001-2016.
The announcement was made by CVB board chair Jim McGraw and comes after a months-long search by Minneapolis-based SearchWide, following the retirement of former CEO Dan Lincoln in December.
Calvert has spent her career developing and executing strategies that drive awareness, build reputation, mobilize resources and spark economic vitality in the Cincinnati region. She founded Source Cincinnati in 2014 to connect the region with national media and elevate the “Cincinnati Story” into the global spotlight. Since its launch, Source, supported by the region’s business, civic and arts organizations, has produced hundreds of stories in outlets like the New York Times, USA Today, The Atlantic and Black Enterprise reaching more than a billion people and working to attract talent, visitors and investment to Cincinnati.
Prior to that, Calvert served as vice president of communications and strategic development for the Cincinnati USA CVB. While there, she was the driving force behind the CVB’s national marketing, communications and reputation-building strategies and was instrumental in the Bureau’s years-long record-setting results in attracting and hosting some of the world’s most high-profile conventions and events. During her tenure, Calvert oversaw the CVB’s communications, media, membership, stakeholder communications, community relations and organizational development departments.
As president and CEO of the CVB, Calvert will lead the region’s destination marketing organization, maximizing the economic impact of the region’s convention and meetings industry and leading an award-winning team to attract high volume, high impact groups to Cincinnati. Calvert will work closely with local civic, corporate and hospitality industry partners to further establish and promote Cincinnati as a world-class meetings and tourism destination.
“I love Cincinnati, and I’ve had the privilege of spending my career promoting the people and organizations who make it such a special place,” said Calvert. “It’s an exciting time to lead the CVB, and I can’t wait to get started with our board and executive committee to cast the vision and map our most urgent priorities.”
Calvert will lead the CVB at a time of active public dialogue about new destination assets, from construction of the new soccer stadium to expansion of the Duke Energy Convention Center and renovation of both a new headquarters hotel and U.S. Bank Arena.
While downtown Cincinnati has experienced an incredible resurgence, the implications of a robust convention, travel and tourism industry extend beyond the urban core.
A visionary leader and strategic collaborator, Calvert is a graduate of Leadership Cincinnati Class 37, and was named one of the Cincinnati Business Courier’s Forty Under 40. She serves on the Hamilton County Commission on Women and Girls, the Board of the Cincinnati Music Festival, a former Cabinet Member for the ArtsWave Annual Community Campaign, and has volunteered in leadership roles with several other regional non-profit organizations. Calvert earned a bachelor’s degree from Miami University, and resides in Anderson Township with her husband Chris and two sons.