Tom Mullen will join the Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board (LA Tourism) in the newly-created position of Senior Vice President, Strategic Alliances, it was announced today by the organization’s President and CEO Ernest Wooden Jr. In this role, Mullen will be responsible for new business development, corporate alliances and partner, member and visitor relations.
A seasoned travel and retail executive, Mullen spent more than 20 years with American Express Travel Related Services, Inc. where he most recently held the position of Vice President, Sales and Account Development, Merchant Services America. In this position, he drove incremental business and enhanced partnership value, and managed more than 1,600 merchant relationships throughout Los Angeles, Northern California, and Hawaii. Mullen served in a variety of other roles during his tenure with American Express including General Manager, Travel Services, Hawaii, Guam, and Micronesia; Director, Merchant Services, Hawaii; Manager, Business Development and Strategic Planning; Manager, Finance & Administration; and Financial Analyst.
Mullen has also been very involved with the Los Angeles travel industry, recently completing his second term as Chairman of LA Tourism’s Board of Directors.
“Tom’s extensive experience developing new business and building partnerships, combined with his knowledge of our local tourism industry make him an ideal addition to the LA Tourism senior management team,” said Wooden. “He consistently drove strong results across a broad range of initiatives at American Express and always with a strong relationship-building focus that will now serve us well. I welcome his expertise as we drive toward our goal of 50 million visitors by 2020 to increase the positive economic impact of tourism for the LA community.”
Mullen has also been active throughout the tourism industry at large, serving on the Board of Directors of the Hawaii Visitors and Convention Board, where he was also Chairman and headed the North American Marketing Committee; the San Francisco Travel Association; the Hawaii Hotel Association; the Hawaii Restaurant Association; the Oahu Visitors Bureau; and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Hawaii Chapter. In 1998, he co-founded the Hawaii Culinary Education Foundation and has chaired the organization since its inception.
Mullen received a Bachelor’s of Business Administration from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in Honolulu.
The Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board is headed by a 35-member Board of Directors representing a cross-section of the Los Angeles business community impacted by LA’s travel and tourism industry. These elected directors serve on a non-paid, voluntary basis. The programs and policies approved by the voluntary leadership are carried out by a full-time professional staff of 75 under its President.
Chairman
Tom Mullen
Secretary-Treasurer
Carl Schuster
President & Chief Executive Officer
Wolfgang Puck Catering & Events
President and Chief Executive Officer
Ernest Wooden
Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board
Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board
Board of Directors
Fiscal Year 2012-2013
Scott Allen
General Manager
Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Los Angeles
Clay Andrews
General Manager
Warner Center Marriott
Phil Baxter
General Manager
Four Points Sheraton LAX
Antoine Berberi
General Manager
Hollywood Roosevelt
Cathy Bradley Berg
Regional Vice President
American Airlines
Don Luis Camacho
President
Olvera Street Restaurant Group, LLC
Javier Cano
General Manager
The Ritz-Carlton, Los Angeles & JW Marriott Los Angeles at L.A. LIVE
Grant Coonley
General Manager
Hilton LA Airport
Michael Czarcinski
Managing Director
Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites
Maria Elena Durazo
Executive Secretary-Treasurer
Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL/CFO
Mehdi Eftekari
General Manager
Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles
Kathy Faulk
General Manager
Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza
Ian Gee
General Manager
Sheraton Los Angeles Downtown Hotel
Steven Hall
Area General Manager
Los Angeles Airport Marriott
Jim Hill
Sports Director
CBS 2
Charlie Hines
Managing Director
Loews Hollywood Hotel
Jeff King
Chairman of the Board
King’s Seafood Company
Larry Kurzweil
President & Chief Operating Officer
Universal Studios Hollywood
Peter Kwong
Owner
Best Western Plus Dragon Gate Inn
Mark Liberman
Former CEO
Los Angeles Tourism & Convention Board
Chris Lorino
General Manager
Westin Los Angeles Airport
William Luddy
Executive Director
Carpenters/Contractors Cooperation Committee
Alan Rothenberg, Esq.
Chairman
1st Century Bank
Jeffrey N. Rudolph
President and CEO
California Science Center
Galit Shokrian
Senior Vice President Marketing
Caruso Affiliated
Candy Spelling
Author/President
Candyland, Inc.
Michael Washington
General Manager
Sheraton Gateway Los Angeles
Stan Washington
Chairman
SEW Holdings LLC
Richard J. Welch, Esq.
Managing Partner
Bingham McCutchen LLP
Jayme Wilson
President
Spirit Cruises
Ex-Officio
Hon. Tom LaBonge
Councilmember, 4th District
City of Los Angeles
(Member, Trade, Commerce & Tourism Committee)
Archie Purvis
President
Purvis Enterprises, Inc.
(President, Los Angeles Convention Center Commission)
Legal Counsel
David S. Aikenhead, Esq.
Aikenhead, Cipes & Supanich