VISIT FLORIDA Names New President, CEO

VISIT FLORIDA has appointed Ken Lawson as its new president and CEO.

The announcement was made following a unanimous vote of the VISIT FLORIDA board of directors.

Lawson, who currently serves as the Secretary of the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), assumes his new position today (Jan. 11).

Lawson, a native Floridian and former U.S. Marine Corps Judge Advocate General, has spent 12 years serving and protecting the public in numerous regulatory positions, including his most recent work overseeing – among other divisions – restaurants, hotels and vacation rentals with DBPR. During his six-year tenure with DBPR, Lawson managed a team of 1,600 employees charged with licensing and regulating more than a million businesses and professionals throughout the state.

“Florida tourism has great momentum with five consecutive years of record visitation, visitor spending and industry-related employment and I look forward to building on this momentum to take VISIT FLORIDA to the next level,” said Lawson.