Conferon Executive Set To Lead San Diego CVB

Peckinpaugh, CGS' head marketer, will replace retiring Reinders in June

By Rachelle Crum -- Tradeshow Week, 5/8/2006

The San Diego Convention & Visitors Bureau has named a senior Conferon executive as its new leader.

David Peckinpaugh will be the San Diego bureau's new president and CEO, replacing longtime leader Reint Reinders, who is retiring next month following a 15-year tenure at the agency's helm.

Peckinpaugh, 48, this week will wrap up his responsibilities as chief marketing officer for the Cleveland-based Conferon Global Services, where he worked for eight years.

This won't be Peckinpaugh's first San Diego stint. He has held senior management positions with several hotels, including two San Diego County properties (La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad and the Hyatt Regency San Diego, now the Manchester Grand Hyatt), Las Vegas' MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, other Hyatt Regency properties in Long Beach, Calif., and Denver, and the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Peckinpaugh said that he was "truly excited to return to San Diego." He will start with the bureau June 5.

He added, "I look forward to working with the leading bureau staff in the country and to building on what they, under the leadership of Reint Reinders, have established over the past many years."

San Diego CVB Board Chairman Ray Warren said Peckinpaugh would bring to the group "an ideal combination of visitor industry knowledge, management skills and marketing expertise. He believes in the San Diego brand and is a consummate promoter."

CGS CEO Ed Shartar said, "While we are sad to see David leave the organization, we know that he is personally excited to take this next step in the evolution of his career."

Reinders, who has known Peckinpaugh for more than a dozen years, said Peckinpaugh "comes well-prepared and is a good choice."

The Holland-born Reinders, a former hotelier himself, said he was "contemplating various other ventures."

When Reinders moved to San Diego as a Marriott Intl. executive in 1985, "San Diego wasn't on the national map." Then, there was one Marriott in the area, the La Costa. Now, there are 23.

Reinders added, "I'm looking very fondly back at my 15 years here. What I've really enjoyed and what I'm going to miss are the people at the bureau. Most of the senior team has been here 12 to 15 years."

Reinders said he was also proud to have been closely involved in bringing to San Diego the retired USS Midway and developing it into the San Diego Aircraft Carrier Museum, which has close to 1 million visitors a year.

Meanwhile, CGS has promoted Rick Binford to replace Peckinpaugh. Binford joined CGS in 1999 and, coincidentally, came from the CVB side of the industry, having held senior sales and marketing positions at both the Detroit and New York bureaus.

Peckinpaugh was promoted to the CGS CMO slot in February. He was formerly its executive vice president of sales and marketing.

Peckinpaugh was a 2005 finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award and a nominee for the Professional Convention Management Assn. Educator of the Year award.

Peckinpaugh serves as an advisory board member for Starwood Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotel Group, Anaheim/Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau and the Our Lucaya Beach & Golf Resort in the Bahamas. He also serves on the PCMA Supplier Partner Advisory Committee.