
Dave Beachnau named Senior Vice President, Sales, Marketing & Sports for the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau
Dave Beachnau has been named Senior Vice President of Sales, Marketing & Sports at the Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau, where he will oversee meetings and conventions sales and marketing initiatives and continue to lead the Detroit Sports Commission.
Detroit, Mich. – The Detroit Metro Convention & Visitors Bureau has named Dave Beachnau, Senior Vice President of Sales, Marketing & Sports. Beachnau will be responsible for overseeing Visit Detroit meetings and conventions sales and marketing initiatives including advertising, public relations, publishing and social media. He will also continue to lead the Detroit Sports Commission (DSC).
“The knowledge and expertise that Dave has contributed to the Visit Detroit is invaluable and we look forward to what he will accomplish in his new role,” said Larry Alexander, Visit Detroit President & CEO.
Beachnau has worked at the Visit Detroit in different capacities for the past 24 years. Since 2001 he served as the executive director for the DSC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Visit Detroit. He was closely involved in the creation of the DSC and its rebranding initiative which included the development of the tagline “Where Champions are made and Championships are played. Detroit.”
During his time with the DSC he was also instrumental in securing multiple NCAA Championship events for the region, including the 2009 NCAA Men’s Final Four, the 2009, 2011 and 2013 NCAA Bowling Championships and the 2010 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four. Beachnau served as co-tournament manager for the 2007 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships, and served on host committees for the 2005 MLB All-Star Game and 2006 Super Bowl XL. Beachnau also oversaw the largest multi-sport event held annually for youth in the U.S., the AAU Junior Olympic Games.
Beachnau was the founder and creator of the Detroit Sports Commission Prep Kickoff Classic, a DSC-owned event that has been held annually since 2005. It is considered one of the premier high school football events in the Midwest, and was named “Outstanding Locally Created Event” by the National Association of Sports Commissions (NASC) in 2008. Beachnau also oversaw the creation of the Detroit Sports mascot, Champ, which earned “Outstanding Marketing Campaign” by the NASC in 2012.
Prior to his time at the Visit Detroit, Beachnau spent eight years in the hospitality industry, including director of sales at the Atheneum Suite Hotel, where he led the pre-opening sales efforts for this downtown Detroit hotel property.
He has served as a member of the board for the NASC and is currently a board member with the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.
Beachnau earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Adrian College in Adrian, Mich. He has received recognition from Lansing Catholic Central High School with the Triple A+ Alumni Award and was honored with Adrian College’s Distinguished Alumni Award.
Visit Detroit is a private, not-for-profit organization whose mission is to market and sell the metropolitan Detroit area on a worldwide basis as a destination for leisure and business travel including conventions, trade shows, corporate meetings, tours and incentive travel to maximize additional visitors, visitor expenditures, state and local tax revenues and job opportunities.
More than 700 businesses are represented in Visit Detroit’s membership. Visit Detroit was founded in 1896 as the world’s first convention and visitors bureau. visitdetroit.com