In partnership with Mayor Quinton Lucas, the boards of the Kansas City Sports Commission and Foundation and Visit KC announced on Dec. 9 that industry veteran and local community leader Kathy Nelson will serve as the leader of both organizations, effective Jan. 1, 2022.
Serving as the President & CEO of the KC Sports Commission and Foundation for the last 10 years, Nelson will now provide strategic oversight to both regional organizations in the newly expanded role, helping to generate economic development for the destination through meetings, conventions, sports and tourism.
Aligned under this new shared leadership structure, the Kansas City Sports Commission and Visit KC will continue to operate as individual entities, maintaining separate staffs, boards and missions, while Nelson will work to enhance alignment opportunities and long-range strategic partnerships to help propel both organizations forward.
In addition to collaborating with Visit KC on major community initiatives such as the KC2026 FIFA World Cup bid effort, the 2023 NFL Draft and the annual Phillips 66 Big 12 Basketball Championships, Nelson has also served on the Visit KC Board of Directors in an ex-officio capacity since 2015.
She succeeds Jason Fulvi, who departed Visit KC in September. Randall Landes, the organization’s Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer, has served as Interim President & CEO since Sept. 3 with the support of Cindy Circo, Board Chair.
In recognition of her service, Nelson has been honored with several accolades over the years, including the national Sports Tourism Executive/CEO of the Year award in2018, the ATHENA Leadership Award from the Kansas City Chamber in 2019 and induction into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2020.
For more information about the Kansas City Sports Commission & Foundation, visit sportkc.org. For more information about Visit KC, go to VisitKC.com.
