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Dean steps down as Discover Puerto Rico chief after 7 years

The founding executive of Puerto Rico’s destination marketing organization will now lead Explore St. Louis.

Brad Dean, who has served as CEO of Discover Puerto Rico (DMO) for the past seven years, is stepping down after accepting the same executive role at Explore St. Louis, effective Feb. 17.

In his new role, Dean will lead the stateside organization’s efforts to attract visitors from around the world, including conventions, concerts and events, leveraging venues like America’s Center and The Dome.

“I’m deeply honored to join Explore St. Louis and eager to embark on this next chapter. St. Louis is a community defined by its rich history, vibrant culture and remarkable people,” said Dean.

“I’m energized by the momentum building and inspired by limitless opportunities to elevate St. Louis as a premier destination for visitors while strengthening the sense of community that makes this region so special,” he added.

“Together, we celebrate what sets St. Louis apart, cultivate strategic partnerships to realize our shared vision, and ensure the visitor economy serves as a catalyst for economic growth and quality of life. The future of St. Louis is full of promise, and I am thrilled to be a part of this exciting journey,” said Dean.

Discover Puerto Rico Chairman José M. Suárez said the organization will select an interim CEO before Dean departs and begin the process to recruit a new executive for the organization in charge of marketing Puerto Rico as a destination for leisure travel, events and conventions.

“We thank Brad for his professionalism and dedication over these seven years, from the founding of the DMO to leading us to this period of unprecedented economic prosperity that the sector is enjoying,” said Suárez.

“Under his leadership, the promotion of the destination stimulated the demand for travel to Puerto Rico to levels unimaginable just a few years ago. We will miss his knowledge and leadership, and we see his recruitment by the St. Louis DMO as a recognition of his extraordinary work in Puerto Rico and the success achieved by our organization under his direction,” he added.

“Brad has been instrumental in turning our island’s DMO into a world-class organization,” said Suárez.

Dean was the founding executive of Discover Puerto Rico in 2018, when the organization began operations. Despite challenges from hurricanes Irma and María, earthquakes that struck the island’s southwest and the COVID-19 pandemic, Puerto Rico’s tourism industry experienced unprecedented growth, DMO officials said.

“The results are there, and Puerto Rico’s potential is enormous when the different components of the industry work together to develop the destination and the visitor economy,” said Dean, whose departure comes a year before his contract with the organization expires.

Between 2018 and 2023, Discover Puerto Rico saw “growth in demand for tourist accommodations by 50%, the number of jobs by 35%, room tax collections by 88% and visitor spending by 56%, among other metrics. 2024 followed the same trajectory as previous years. Brad Dean’s achievements were recognized in 2021 when he was selected by the U.S. Travel Association as State Executive of the Year,” according to the entity.

“The health of the Discover Puerto Rico brand also shows significant progress,” Discover Puerto Rico officials said, noting that “since the launch of the DMO, surveys that measure travelers’ familiarity with Puerto Rico as a destination, positive perception and likelihood of visiting the archipelago show increases of more than 10 percentage points. Likewise, efforts to attract events and conventions to Puerto Rico have improved and currently contribute around $200 million annually to the economy, a figure never before seen in the destination.”

Under Dean’s leadership, the promotion of Puerto Rico achieved international recognition as one of the best tourist destinations, earning spots in The New York Times’ “52 Places to Go,” Travel + Leisure’s “World’s Best Awards” and Condé Nast Traveler’s “Readers’ Choice Awards.” In 2023, Discover Puerto Rico was also named one of Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies in the World”.

“Brad’s most important achievement, however, is that he managed to recruit and develop an excellent group of professionals and create a work culture at the DMO that will continue to bear fruit for many years to come,” said Tomás Ramírez, vice chairman of Discover Puerto Rico.

“We will always be grateful for the great contributions he made to Puerto Rico, especially in distributing tourism across the 78 municipalities and his concern for developing small and medium-sized businesses,” said Ramírez.

Author Details
Author Details
Business reporter with 30 years of experience writing for weekly and daily newspapers, as well as trade publications in Puerto Rico. My list of former employers includes Caribbean Business, The San Juan Star, and the Puerto Rico Daily Sun, among others. My areas of expertise include telecommunications, technology, retail, agriculture, tourism, banking and most other segments of Puerto Rico’s economy.
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