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DAVID J. SARGENT RETURNS TO CHICAGO AS SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF THE CHICAGO CONVENTION & TOURISM BUREAU
(CHICAGO, IL) August 5, 2009 – Tim Roby, president and CEO of the Chicago Convention & Tourism Bureau (CCTB), today announced the appointment of David J. Sargent to the newly created position of senior vice president reporting to Mark Theis, executive vice president. He will join the CCTB at the end of August.
Sargent returns to Chicago with more than 20 years of experience in the travel and tourism industry. Most recently, he was senior vice president of sales and marketing for the Orlando/Orange County CVB.
In this new role, Sargent will lead the CCTB sales team with a strategy to acquire new meetings and convention business.
“Dave has an unmatched knowledge of the meetings and convention business and a stellar reputation within the hotel community,” said Roby. “In response to the increasingly intense competition within our industry we felt we needed to add more ‘firepower’ to our already strong team led by Mark Theis and Mark Tunney, and Dave fits that bill perfectly.”
“I look forward to returning to Chicago to work with one of the strongest sales teams in the industry,” said Sargent. “Chicago’s reputation as a serious business destination, its diverse meeting facilities, a built-in attendee base and more will provide a solid platform in selling the destination to meeting planners seeking a partner to help grow their events.
Sargent holds a successful sales and marketing track record in major markets including Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C. Prior to joining the Orlando CVB he was the area director of sales and marketing for the Hiltons of Chicago, where he led a team of more than 50 people at three properties. Prior to that, he served as the director of sales and marketing at The Westin New York at Times Square and Sheraton New York. He has also held progressively higher sales positions with the Chicago Global Sales Office of the Sheraton Corporation, Sheraton Washington Hotel, Sheraton Bal Harbour, Hyatt Regency O'Hare and Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers.
Sargent received a B.A. degree in Broadcast/Journalism and a minor in English from Drake University in Iowa. He has served as president of the Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association and was awarded the Presidential Award by ITT Sheraton Corporation.
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Editor’s Note: a headshot is available upon request