VISIT ORLANDO - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chief Financial Officer
- Executive Vice President
Job Titles:
- Member of the Executive Committee
- Treasurer
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- Founder / OnePulse Foundation
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- Chairman of the Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Leader
- Member of the Executive Committee
- President
Casandra Matej is the president and CEO of Visit Orlando, the official marketing organization for America's most visited destination and Theme Park Capital of the World. She leads the branding, marketing and selling of the Orlando destination on a global scale, working with nearly 900 member companies across the tourism landscape.
Matej is the first female CEO in the nonprofit organization's 37-year history. She has been named one of the 50 Most Powerful People by Orlando Magazine and a Game Changer by the Orlando Business Journal, as well as recognized as one of the Top 25 Women in the Meetings Industry by Meetings & Conventions Magazine and listed among the 500 Most Influential Event Professionals list by BizBash.
With three decades of service in the travel industry, Matej is an active leader engaged in driving tourism on the national, state and local levels. Her current board involvement includes the U.S. Travel Association, Orlando Economic Partnership, Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association, Downtown Orlando Partnership, Florida Citrus Sports and Air Team Orlando, which helps recruit and maintain air travel to the region. In addition, she co-chairs the Orange County Economic Recovery Task Force, a group of more than 50 leaders across local government, the business community, nonprofits and healthcare.
Prior to joining Visit Orlando in February 2021, Matej spent 10 years as president and CEO of Visit San Antonio. Through her vision, Visit San Antonio achieved record highs in convention sales and marketing programs, united the destination's visitor experience by developing one of the largest tourism ambassador programs in the country, and spearheaded the pursuit of a UNESCO World Heritage designation for the region's legendary Spanish colonial missions. She has also held leadership roles at VisitDallas, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and Hyatt Hotels.
Matej's immediate focus is spurring recovery of the powerful Orlando tourism industry, which, pre-pandemic, drew over 76 million visitors annually to Central Florida. Tourism is vital to the region's economic health, historically supporting 41% of the local workforce and generating $75 billion in annual economic impact.
Matej holds a Bachelor of Science in Speech Communications with a concentration in Organizational Communications from the University of Texas at Austin. She and her husband, Chris, are proud parents to John and Ellie Mae, and step-daughters Madison and Carlie. In her spare time, Matej enjoys golf, boating, beach and - of course! - theme park vacations with her family.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Market President / Publisher
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Travel Industry Sales
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- Senior Vice President, Greater Orlando Market President
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- Member of the Executive Committee
- Secretary
Job Titles:
- Ex - Officio Director
- Orange County Mayor / Orange County Government
Job Titles:
- Area Vice President
- Member of the Executive Committee
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Human Resources
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- Vice President, Finance & Business Affairs
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- Senior Vice President of Membership & Support Services
Job Titles:
- Executive Director / Orange County Convention Center
Mike Waterman oversees the convention sales and travel industry sales teams at Visit Orlando. In this role, he provides overall leadership and direction in the areas of travel industry sales and convention sales & services. This includes city-wide sales, business development, strategic partnerships and destination services to fulfill Visit Orlando's mission, as well as both short and long-term strategic group and convention sales and convention marketing objectives.
Prior to joining the organization in August 2019, Waterman was president & CEO of the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, also known as Visit Houston.
Waterman, who has over 30 years' experience in the industry, started his career in Orlando with Marriott International and spent 26 years with the company. He held several executive positions and rose to vice president of sales for Marriott's western region, overseeing 100 properties that included a group of hotels in Los Angeles' convention district known as L.A. Live. Orlando is the 14th city Mike has lived in since graduating from the University of New Hampshire.
Job Titles:
- President of Business Operations & CFO
Randy Singh joined Visit Orlando in October 2020. As CFO, Singh is responsible for overseeing all finance-related functions, as well as information technology, market research and insights, legal, and procurement.
Prior to joining Visit Orlando, Singh was the deputy county administrator for Orange County Government, overseeing a multitude of departments and divisions including the county's $5 billion annual budget, human resources, risk management, office of professional standards, information technology and systems, office of economic trade and tourism, real estate, capital projects, procurement, debt management, facilities, fleet services, business development, social services, parks & recreation, history center and others. He spent 24-plus years in various roles at the county, with the majority of his service in management positions.
Singh has a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the City University of New York, Baruch M. Bernard College. He is a certified government finance officer in the state of Florida and a certified public finance officer in the United States and Canada. He is also an audio engineer with a degree from the Institute of Audio Research in New York City.
Singh previously served on the board of Central Florida Citrus Sports and the audit committees of the Central Florida Expressway Authority and Orange County. He also chaired Orange County's Risk Management and Health Care committees and is an active member of the multi-national Government Finance Officer Association.
Job Titles:
- President / CEO / Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association
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- General Manager / Orlando World Center
Job Titles:
- Ex - Officio Director
- Mayor Demings' Designate
Job Titles:
- Chief Commercial Officer / Walt Disney World Resort
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Member Development
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Sales Operations
Job Titles:
- Chairman - Elect
- Chairman of the Executive Committee
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- Senior Vice President / Dr. P. Phillips Hospital
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- Regional Vice President & General Manager / Four Seasons Resort
Job Titles:
- Vice President, Global Marketing
Job Titles:
- Shareholder, CEO & President / Lowndes
Job Titles:
- Director - Social Responsibility, Inclusion & Diversity