Houston, TX – Greg Ortale resigned as president and CEO of the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau (GHCVB) after seven years on the job.
Ortale officially resigned effective May 1, a week before the official announcement was made. He will remain on the job until an interim replacement is named and will be on the payroll until July 31.
Ortale, who also resigned from the GHCVB board of directors, made the move amid discussions of a “strategic alignment” of the GHCVB and Houston First Corporation, which was formed in 2011 to manage the George R. Brown Convention Center and other tourism-related properties. The strategic alignment would include operational synergies and closer cooperation between the staffs of the two organizations.
A statement from the GHVCB said Ortale had expressed a desire to spend more time with his family and felt the timing was right to step aside as the talks with Houston First progressed.
Ortale was named president and CEO of the GHCVB in 2007 after holding the same position with Meet Minneapolis from 1987 to 2007. He had been executive vice president and general manager of the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Council from 1979 to 1987.
Reach Greg Ortale at (713) 437-5201 or gortale@visithouston.com
