St. Louis -- Kathleen (Kitty) Ratcliffe, a prominent figure in the meetings industry, today was named president of the St. Louis Convention & Visitors Commission.
At present executive vice president of the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau, Ratcliffe is returning to the St. Louis commission, where she worked as a convention sales executive from 1985 to 1989.
Prior to joining the New Orleans bureau, Ratcliffe served as president of the Jacksonville, Fla., convention bureau, and before that as vice president of sales and marketing for the Baltimore bureau.
Ratcliffe is a past international president of Meeting Professionals International and a current program committee member of the Professional Convention Management Association. She also serves as an ethics committee member for ASAE & The Center as well as on the Board of Trustees of the Destination Marketing Association International Foundation.
"We went into this nationwide search process hoping we could find a star and an industry leader for St. Louis," said commission chairman Dan Dierdorf. "That’s exactly who we found. Kitty is a big-time player in the destination marketing arena, and we are pleased to welcome her back to St. Louis as president.”
Ratcliffe will begin work at the commission within 60 days. She succeeds Carole Moody, who is retiring after a 30-year career with the organization.