A conversation with Visit Phoenix CEO Steve Moore, who recently announced his plans for retirement after nearly 50 years in the industry. Learn more about him.
You’ve been in the industry for nearly 50 years. What are a few of your fondest memories?
That would be the mentors that I have learned from during my entire journey through today and the many relationships in this industry that I am blessed to enjoy and take with me. The CVB world is quite unique and the only other community like ours that quickly comes to mind is the NCAA—we compete, yet share the same ethics, core values and extensive, lifelong personal and business relationships including our spouses, partners and children.
What were you most proud of during your tenure as president and CEO of Visit Phoenix?
Being on the team during the rapid emergence of our downtown. The city’s new, $600 million convention center opening in 2009 and subsequent massive hotel growth played a key role in downtown Phoenix’s ascendance into a vibrant place to live, work, play and visit. Also, bidding and hosting the back-to-back trifecta of the College CFP Champ Game, Super Bowl and Final Four, then rebooking the latter two involving the collection of 300k room nights of date options at the same time.
What was it that drew you into this industry?
Right out of college in 1975 my dear friend, the late meetings industry legend Mark Henry, recruited me to the CVB. Back then, the industry was dubbed invisible, but once you are in…you never want to get out.
Can you talk about your relationship with MPI and the value it brought to Visit Phoenix and the industry?
MPI’s cutting-edge education and member accessibility have always been vital to a CVB, as well as the short-term transactional relief that this segment brings to resolving near-term booking pace issues. I was fortunate to host their annual meeting while in San Antonio and remain a great admirer of their decades of relevance and adaptation. Paul Van Deventer is a renaissance leader who has delivered their content to other trade shows and associations and I am one of his biggest admirers. The recent conference in Grapevine accelerated the conversation of the return of face-to-face meetings.
This year has been arguably the most challenging ever in our industry’s history. What advice would you give us?
Embrace and lead the change. The silver lining in this tragedy and pause is that all segments have the time in our communities to take inventory of ourselves and our organization’s character, inclusivity—our souls—and will re-emerge in a better place that sometimes only a black swan event can enable. We have seen this occur on a localized scale when destinations encountered catastrophes, then evolved into a better sense of a diverse place. This global pandemic has no exceptions and, ironically, while we must maintain physical social distance, our compassion for our stakeholders/community requires a closer-than-ever emotional connection. The local CVB must continue to inspire and be a beacon of hope for its community.
How has working in the meeting and event industry changed or affected you?
The influencer/business events and relationships have enabled exposure to far more industries, diversity of thought and global cultures than most of my friends outside of our industry. They may be more financially successful in their fields, but their worlds are more narrow than ours.
You mentioned in an email that “people have told me that when it’s time, you will know it. They were right…” So why now?
I am hitting 70 years, so I have been around. This has quietly been in the works for over a year, but leaving at the beginning of this pandemic was not an option because the incredible Visit Phoenix staff needed a CEO that they knew and was devoted to ensuring the future of this organization. They are more than ready for the next level, and I am ready for longer weekends.
What will you miss most about the industry?
The many people with whom I have worked over the years. However, many past CVB CEOs, hoteliers and association executives have remained in touch, are still in our family and we often see each other. I warmly refer to them as the “MIAs,” or meeting industry alums—and soon I will be “MIA” too. I have given far more eulogies in the past two years than expected, and to spend more time with family and friends will be most rewarding.
What are your future plans?
Like other industries, ours is 24/7/365, so I have been duly cautioned about the first six months of getting away. My wife Karen and I plan to visit with family more often, count our blessings, increase our participation in charitable works and explore the roads that I flew over these past 46 years.
