Doug Small ’ 82 Leads Efforts to ‘ Experience Grand Rapids ’
Alumni Feature
A Different Kind of CEO
Doug Small ’ 82 Leads Efforts to ‘ Experience Grand Rapids ’
For Doug Small , it is about the destination , not the journey .
As president and “ Chief Experience Officer ” of Experience Grand Rapids , he leads the destination marketing non-profit organization charged with the mission to market Michigan ’ s second largest city and the surrounding region as a premier convention and visitor destination .
“ When I got the opportunity to come here and interview , I saw the city and said , ‘ Wow , this is a place I really want to be ,’ ” said Small , who received his bachelor ’ s degree in hotel , restaurant and institutional management from Siena Heights in 1982 . “ What ’ s not to love about choosing to live in a city , and whatever that city is , you get to get up every day and represent it ? That was exciting to me , and still is .”
After graduating from Siena Heights , Small got his start as a banquet manager at the Sheraton Westgate Hotel in Toledo , Ohio . However , he soon realized destination marketing was his future career path .
“ While working in Dayton ( Ohio ), I got my first real taste of the destination marketing side ,” he said . “ It got me excited to look at that as a potential career .”
From there , he took a job in resort-driven Palm Springs , Calif ., which also allowed him to manage offices in places like London and Frankfort , giving him a taste of international experience . He said he took a very “ strategic ” path to where he is today .
“ Every ( career ) move was part of my strategy of moving up in the industry ,” he said . “ My ultimate goal one day was to be the president and CEO of a destination marketing organization .”
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