The CEO of Northern Kentucky’s tourism bureau will serve as interim CEO of Visit Cincy, Cincinnati’s convention and tourism bureau, while the organization searches for its next leader.
meetNKY CEO Julie Kirkpatrick will serve as interim CEO of the bureau, Visit Cincy announced on Feb. 2. The move follows longtime CEO Julie Calvert’s departure from Visit Cincy at the end of January.
Kirkpatrick will remain the head of meetNKY, in addition to fulfilling the daily operational duties of running Visit Cincy. Kirkpatrick has led meetNKY since 2020.
“Meeting planners should expect continuity,” Kirkpatrick said in a news release. “Our sales and services teams are fully engaged and our partners are aligned. With the recent reinvention of the Cincinnati Convention Center, our community and the Visit Cincy team are poised to set a new standard for meetings and conventions in the region.”
Additionally, Candace McGraw, the former CEO of the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport, was brought on at the bureau as an interim executive advisor to support the organization through the leadership transition.
Visit Cincy’s Board of Directors has launched a nationwide search, led by a community-based search committee and supported by an external executive search firm, to identify the organization’s next president and CEO.