Tollett Resigns as Houston CVB Head
Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 1/15/2007
Gerard J. "Jordy" Tollett has resigned as president and CEO of the Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau. Tollett came under fire last July after he was filmed by a local television station drinking in a bar during lunch.
He will remain a consultant to the Houston CVB for the next 13 months to assist with the leadership transition for the bureau, which is currently searching for his replacement. Chairman Doug Horn and Chairman Emeritus Don Henderson will handle day-to-day operations.
Tollett's contract was set to expire Feb. 1. The bureau's executive committee announced in November that it had begun looking for a new CEO and asked Tollett to apply for the position, saying the search was not related to a six-week leave of absence he had taken following the incident when he was videotaped in the bar.
A Houston native, Tollett went to work at the Houston Astrodome in 1971 at the age of 17. He joined the CVB in 1981 and had been its president and CEO since 1997.
"The industry is so time-consuming," Tollett said of his decision. "I have teenage daughters and siblings who I want to spend more time with.
"And I think it's important to go out on a high note. Houston has had its three greatest years in terms of room nights," he added.
Tollett continued that, rather than retire, he planned to "pursue other options in the industry in Houston, where I've been lucky to work my whole career, as well as to continue my charitable work with Bikers for Babies, a March of Dimes charity that provides assistance for premature babies."
"It's been a good run, and I had a lot of fun," he concluded.
