The Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority board of directors has selected Steve Hill as the next chief executive of the organisation.
He will take up the role in September.
Hill will be the ninth leader of the LVCVA, succeeding the retiring chief executive, Rossi Ralenkotter.
“I am honoured the board of directors selected me as chief executive of the LVCVA.
“The authority is an integral part of the Southern Nevada economy.
“I look forward to working with our tremendous team and our mission partners to innovate, improve access to and around the destination and drive growth to keep Las Vegas the number one choice for business and leisure travellers alike,” said Hill.
A Las Vegas resident for more than 30 years, Hill founded Silver State Materials in 1987 and supplied concrete and aggregates for many projects in the community.
After selling Silver State, Hill was appointed by governor Brian Sandoval to serve as the first director of the governor’s Office of Economic Development in 2011, where he guided the development of Moving Nevada Forward, the plan for diversifying Nevada’s economy.
During his tenure, Hill helped create numerous programmes, including Workforce Innovations for the New Nevada, the Battle Born Venture Fund, and the Knowledge Fund, which will leave a lasting impression on higher education, workforce development, and business incubation.
“As an entrepreneur, Steve Hill helped build many resorts on the Strip and as the inaugural leader of my Office of Economic Development he helped make Nevada an attractive place to build businesses, bringing some of the world’s most innovative companies to the Silver State,” said Sandoval.
“I know Steve will be equally successful at the LVCVA; he is the right person, at the right time to lead the organisation.”
Hill takes over the LVCVA at an exciting time for the organisation as it is about to get under way on the largest infrastructure project in its history, the expansion and renovation of the Las Vegas Convention Centre.
The project will add 1.4 million square feet of new space, with at least 600,000 square feet of usable exhibit space.
The project will allow the destination to attract more business and allow existing clients to continue to grow their conventions.
Las Vegas itself has been recognised as the World’s Leading Meetings & Conference Destination for the past five years by the World Travel Awards as it continues to transition away from a gaming-led destination to a more MICE focused market.