Brand USA president and CEO Fred Dixon is leaving the US destination marketing organisation after just over two years in the role, stepping down effective November 13 to rejoin NYC Tourism + Conventions as president and CEO.
The move sees Dixon return to the New York body he led for nearly two decades before departing for Brand USA in mid-2024. He will start at NYC Tourism on December 1, succeeding Julie Coker, who is leaving to become CEO of Visit California. NYC Tourism board chairman Charles Flateman will lead the organisation in the interim.
In a statement from the board, newly elected Brand USA board chairman Todd Davidson thanked Dixon for his “extraordinary leadership” over the past two-plus years and the “significant momentum” achieved during his tenure, congratulating him on the return to NYC Tourism.
“Brand USA’s mission to grow inbound travel to the United States has never been more important, and the organisation enters this transition from a position of strength,” the statement read. Dixon will continue to lead Brand USA through November 13 “ensuring continuity,” with the board saying it has “full confidence in the depth and strength” of the leadership team and is committed to a “thoughtful, timely transition.”
A search for Dixon’s successor is already under way, with the board to share details as they become available.
Industry reporting suggests NYC Tourism is not running a formal search of its own – Dixon is understood to be the leading, and effectively only, candidate for that role, pending board ratification.
Dixon’s exit lands at a difficult moment for Brand USA. The organisation has faced an 80 per cent cut to its federal funding, capped at US$20 million (approximately AU$28 million) for the current fiscal year, alongside a 15 per cent reduction in staff, a 5.5 per cent drop in US inbound travel, and a strained relationship with the Trump administration. A proposed Visit USA Act, which would restore Brand USA’s funding to US$100 million (approximately AU$139 million) for fiscal 2026 and 2027, remains before US lawmakers.
Dixon joined Brand USA in July 2024, succeeding long-serving CEO Chris Thompson, who had led the organisation for 12 years. Before that, Dixon spent almost 20 years at NYC Tourism + Conventions – then known as NYC & Company – joining as vice president of tourism in 2005 and rising to CEO in 2014. During his tenure there, international visitation to New York City more than doubled to over 13 million travellers.
