LAKE BUENA VISTA/TALLAHASSEE, Fla.
Kenneth Lawson has been selected to fill the role of president and CEO at Visit Florida at a salary of $175,000 following the departure of Will Seccombe, who was asked to resign by Gov. Rick Scott following a controversial decision to pay rapper Pitbull $1 million for a marketing campaign. Pitbull shared his contract on Twitter.
According to various news outlets, Lawson will be making more money at Visit Florida than he was in his current position as director for Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation, but the salary is significantly lower than what was being paid to Seccombe, after a call for accountability.
The Orlando Sentinel also reported that the Visit Florida board approved a $73,000 severance package for Seccombe, which was lower than the $327,000 that was mentioned in a clause in his contract.
Scott praised the decision to hire Lawson for the Visit Florida CEO role and reiterated the importance of accountability and transparency in the use of taxpayer dollars from the DMO moving forward.
More information is available in this article from the Orlando Sentinel.
