SPEAKER BIOS
Joe Terzi
President & CEO
San Diego Tourism Authority
Joe Terzi began his hospitality career with ITT Sheraton Corporation in 1972. During his tenure with the company, he distinguished himself as General Manager for a diverse set of hotels in locations from coast-to-coast including Washington, DC; Billings, MT; Tulsa, OK; Dallas, TX; Seattle, WA; Bal Harbor, FL, and, finally, San Diego, CA. Shortly after Starwood acquired ITT Sheraton in 1998, Terzi was promoted to Vice President of Operations with responsibility for all Starwood brands in California and Nevada. His role included the direction of a regional management team responsible for supervision and support of all Starwood owned, managed and franchised brands in the region. This included Westin, Sheraton, W, St. Regis, Luxury Collection, Le Meridian, Four Points and Aloft brands, totaling 38 hotels with annual revenues of $1 billion.
In recognition of his performance and leadership, Terzi received numerous awards during his tenure in hotel management, including twice helming Sheraton Corporation’s Hotel of the Year, first at the Sheraton Seattle and second at the Sheraton San Diego. In addition, he was inducted into the ITT Ring of Quality, the highest award given by the ITT Corporation for exceptional business performance.
In 2002, Terzi was promoted to Senior Vice President for Starwood Hotels & Resorts and continued in that capacity until his retirement on January 1, 2009.
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Terzi was recruited to fill the role of President and CEO for the San Diego Tourism Authority in March 2009. He and his family reside in Poway, CA.