Bill Geist

Consultant and Author Bill Geist was born in Hawaii and grew up just south of Chicago, spending his youth enjoying summers in Door County WI with his family. After college, and a stint in broadcast media in the greater Chicago market, he directed the Kankakee County IL Convention & Visitors Bureau and oversaw a number of top-draw tourism events including the Domino’s Pizza Outboard Powerboat National Championships. But, he was drawn north and became the CEO of the Greater Madison WI Convention & Visitors Bureau in 1990. Putting his political science degree to work, Bill was at the epicenter of the public battle to build a downtown convention center on Lake Monona designed by Frank Lloyd Wright which forever transformed the landscape of Madison, drawing residents and visitors to the iconic lakefront building.

Since 1995, Bill has led a consultancy specializing in the issues and opportunities before Destination Marketing and Management Organizations across the Americas. He has worked with over 200 destinations from Alaska to Belize and penned his first book, "Destination Leadership for Boards" in 2004. His latest, "Destination Leadership" builds upon the first book by expanding the concept of Destination Leadership to apply to anyone that wants their community to thrive.