HONOLULU
AEG Facilities, the management company of the Hawaii Convention Center (HCC), appointed Lee Conching as vice president of Meet Hawaii citywide sales responsible for the oversight and management of all day to day operations of the sales department.
Conching will work closely with the Hawaii Tourism Authority’s Global Meeting, Convention and Incentives team and convention center staff to identify and secure citywide conventions and tradeshows for Hawaii’s largest meetings facility.
In this role, Conching will lead and oversee all sales department staff, providing the department with training and shaping a work environment that encourages productivity and teamwork. He will work closely with the Teri Orton, HCC’s general manager, to establish a sales plan, establish target goals and collaborate with the marketing department to develop strategies to close business in local, state, regional, national and international markets.
“Lee has been the pillar of our sales team for many years and has a wealth of experience in selling Hawaii and the MCI market,” said Teri Orton, HCC general manager. “I am confident he will lead our team to accomplish great things for the destination.”
Conching’s hospitality career spans more than 30 years most recently serving as HCC’s director of sales since 2004 supporting sales efforts for citywide conventions and was responsible for maintaining productive relationships with clients in North America. In that role, his duties also included client services support and strengthening relationships with industry stakeholders where he exceeded all annual sales goals during this time in that position.
Prior to HCC, he served as director of marketing at Bishop Museum from 2002-2003, marketing manager at Hilton Hawaiian Village from 1998 to 2002, and director of sales at Kapalua Bay Hotel from 1994-1996.
Conching is an active member of the American Society of Associate Executives (ASAE), Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA), Meeting Professionals International (MPI), and the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA). He is a graduate of Kapiolani Community College and St. Louis High School.
Located in the heart Honolulu, the HCC features an open-air design that brings the outdoors inside and allows meeting participants to experience a true Hawaiian sense of place. It is the Aloha State’s largest, meetings facility with 1.1 million square feet of total meeting space.
