Mike Zumbaugh
The Chattanooga Convention & Visitors Bureau, the community’s official destination management organization, announced that Mike Zumbaugh, CDME, has joined the CVB as the company’s first Chief Operating Officer. In this role, Mr. Zumbaugh will focus on streamlining the company’s finances, human resources, and operations to bring efficiency and transparency as the CVB executes the new growth-focused strategic plan.
“We are very excited to welcome Mike to Chattanooga and to the CVB.
His 27 years of experience in the travel and tourism industry has given him an understanding of all aspects of how a CVB operates, making him uniquely qualified for this role. He is a trusted leader and having him on board will help us move toward operational excellence,” said Barry White, CDME, president and chief executive officer of the Chattanooga CVB.
Most recently, Mr. Zumbaugh was at the Irving (TX) CVB where he was the vice president of finance and administration for the past three years. Prior to Irving, he was the vice president of finance and administration for the Greater Lansing (MI) CVB where he started his career 24 years earlier as the finance manager.
“Between Barry reaching out to me and the initial interview, my wife and I visited Chattanooga three times. We had never been here before and were very impressed with the vibrancy of the downtown area, southern hospitality, and incredible views from Lookout Mountain. It immediately felt like home,” said Mr. Zumbaugh. “I am excited for the opportunity to help lead a dedicated and passionate team as we implement our new initiatives.”
Mr. Zumbaugh graduated from Davenport University with a degree in accounting and information systems. In 2001, he earned the Destination Internationals’ Certified Destination Management Executive designation, the tourism industry’s highest individual educational achievement. He continues to be actively involved with Destination International by serving on their Professional Development Committee and co-chairing their Human Resources Task Force.
Now residing in Chattanooga, Mr. Zumbaugh and his wife Loretta of 28 years have a lot of exploring to do. They have two grown children who live in Michigan – Jennifer and her husband live in Lansing and Chad and his fiancée live in Grand Rapids.