LAS VEGAS
Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) CEO Rossi Ralenkotter announced the hiring of Steve Hill to fill the role of president and chief operating officer (COO).
The announcement completes an organizational restructuring that was introduced in January 2016. Later stages of the restructuring effort included a November 2017 decision to combine the roles of president and COO under one hire.
As part of the new arrangement, the LVCVA developed a C-suite hierarchy for the executive office to better prepare for succession planning and create an organizational structure to better mirror and partner with the resort community.
Ralenkotter also announced the promotion of Cathy Tull to chief marketing officer and Ed Finger to chief financial officer. Previous additions to the C-suite included Barbara Bolender as the chief people officer and Jacqueline Peterson as chief communications and public affairs officer.
“In our continuing effort to maintain the LVCVA’s status as the premier destination marketing organization in the world, we established our new corporate structure to better reflect the resort industry and our hospitality partners in Southern Nevada,” said Ralenkotter. “With these final appointments to our executive suite, we are better positioned to move the organization forward and develop more of our key staff."
Hill comes to the LVCVA from his position as executive director of the Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED), a position he held since the agency was established by Governor Brian Sandoval and the Nevada Legislature in 2011. Prior to his time with the GOED, Hill was a founder of Silver State Materials and Chairman of Service 1st Bank. He also serves as the Chairman of the Las Vegas Stadium Authority and will retain that position. Hill formally joined the LVCVA as its president and COO on Jan. 22.
Tull was promoted to the newly created position of chief marketing officer, which was effective as of Jan. 1. Tull has been with the LVCVA since 2005, serving as the vice president of strategic planning and moving to senior vice president of marketing, where she has overseen the LVCVA’s marketing efforts since 2009.
Ed Finger was promoted from senior vice president of finance to chief financial officer (CFO), following the departure of Rana Lacer, the organization’s first CFO. Finger joined the LVCVA in 2016 following a stint as the deputy county manager for Adams County, Colorado, and assistant county manager for Clark County, Nevada.
Bolender, who is the chief people officer, joined the LVCVA in 2016 from Boyd Gaming and Peterson was hired in 2017 with previous experience at Live Nation Entertainment and Caesars Entertainment. Lacer departed the LVCVA after serving as its senior vice president of finance and chief financial officer since 2008.
