After fending off pressure to hire an ally of Mayor Brandon Johnson, the city’s tourism marketing agency has ended a more than year-long search for a president and CEO.
Choose Chicago said Thursday it has named Kristen Reynolds to fill the key post, which has been the highest-paid public position in Chicago. Reynolds comes to Chicago after 27 years in tourism leadership, the last decade as CEO of New York’s Discover Long Island.
She will take over an organization that, with public and private funding, is tasked with promoting Chicago against cities that have much larger budgets to market themselves. While Chicago has seen growth in business and leisure travel, it still hasn’t hit record numbers it recorded just before the pandemic.
Reynolds’ hiring ends a more than year-long search extended by tension between Choose Chicago’s high-powered board of business leaders and Johnson. The board wanted a tourism veteran with a proven track record, while sources said the mayor urged the hiring of an ally with no background in an insular industry.
Johnson had urged board members to hire Deputy Mayor Kenya Merritt, a longtime city employee but with no background in tourism.
The Sun-Times reported last week that Johnson has relented and signed off on the selection of Reynolds. The Choose Chicago CEO has in the past been paid $520,000. The selection of a CEO traditionally has gotten approval from the mayor and the governor, as the agency gets both city and state funding.
Choose Chicago’s announcement contained those customary endorsements. Johnson hailed Reynolds as a “proven leader in tourism” while Gov. JB Pritzker said he looks forward to working with her to encourage travel to Chicago.
Reynolds will start her job May 5. Her salary was not reported.
Rich Gamble, a Choose Chicago board member and former Brookfield Zoo executive, has been the agency’s interim CEO since Lynn Osmond left the post in early 2024.
“Chicago is a world-class city with unparalleled cultural, culinary and business assets, and I am honored to take on this leadership role at Choose Chicago,” Reynolds said in a news release. “I look forward to working with the incredible team, city officials and industry partners to continue elevating Chicago’s global reputation, attracting visitors and driving economic impact across Chicago’s 77 neighborhoods.”
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.