EVP, Tourism
As the Executive Vice President of Tourism at Hunden, Mr. Burress’s primary focus is on the execution of Hunden’s Placemaking Plans and associated destination development studies and implementation efforts, including major tourism-inducing assets such as entertainment, sports, and convention facilities, and events.
A seasoned leader in the DMO world, Mr. Burress led two destinations through years of placemaking and tourism efforts, in addition to furthering quality-of-life assets for residents. In the destinations that Jay has led, he has worked closely on development projects with elected officials, Chambers of Commerce, Economic Development departments, and local stakeholders from ideation to research, fundraising, and operations.
For ten years, Jay’s role as President & CEO at Visit Anaheim centered on the goal of bringing the DMO into the future. He accomplished this through new market sales and marketing initiatives, new product development and placemaking, and community engagement. Jay managed seven direct reports and reported to a Board of Directors. Through the Anaheim Convention Center expansion, Jay was able to grow citywide convention business from 35 bookings each year to 52 bookings each year. Jay grew the organization’s budget from $12M to $22M and staff from 50 employees to a peak of 72 in 2020. He also created a regional Sports Commission, a community foundation (Visit Anaheim Cares), and an LLC to own and hold their own events and conventions (Enterprise Anaheim).