SACRAMENTO, Calif.
Visit California President and CEO Caroline Beteta has been named Chair-Elect of the Brand USA Board. The election designates her as the next board Chair for fiscal year 2013, which begins on October 1, 2012. In addition, she has been named interim CEO of the organization following the departure of Jim Evans, who stepped down from his position as CEO of Brand USA effective June 22. Beteta will continue in her role as President and CEO of Visit California.
“This is a win-win-win for Brand USA, the U.S. travel industry and California,” said Kathy Turner, vice president of legislative and government affairs at Enterprise Holdings, owner and operator of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Alamo Rent A Car and National Car Rental, and Visit California’s Vice Chair of Operations. “Caroline provides the perfect transitional leadership and can hit the ground running since she has been an integral part of the organization from the beginning."
Moreover, Turner continued, “Caroline has the policy background and experience selling California to international markets to take the United States’ tourism marketing effort to the next level, using the successful Visit California programs as the prototype. This means more exposure and more opportunities to leverage Visit California’s partnership with Brand USA and its global marketing programs.”
Beteta’s first priority as chair-elect will be to spearhead the search for a new CEO while serving as Interim CEO of the organization to ensure a smooth transition. Brand USA is a national program with a mission of attracting billions of dollars in increased visitor spending to the United States.
