Michael "Bo" Heitz to Succeed Ellen Ingersoll as next CFO in March 2025
Heitz Brings Extensive Experience in Finance and the Travel and Leisure Sector
Viad Corp (NYSE:VVI) ("Viad" or the "Company") today announced that Michael "Bo" Heitz will assume the role of Chief Financial Officer of the Company in March 2025. Heitz joined the Company on December 16, 2024 and is based in Pursuit's Denver office where he will work in close partnership with Pursuit President and future CEO David Barry and the rest of the Company's leadership team to support Pursuit's strategy and growth as a standalone public company following Viad's sale of its GES business. Ellen Ingersoll, Viad's Chief Financial Officer since 2002, will remain CFO through the Company's filing of its Form 10-K for 2024 and will work closely with Heitz to ensure a smooth transition.
"On behalf of the Board and leadership team, I want to thank Ellen for her transformative work over the past 22 years," said Steve Moster, Viad's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Ellen has made innumerable contributions throughout her tenure as CFO and has guided us through some of the most transformative evolutions in our company's history. We are grateful for her support as Pursuit begins its next chapter as a standalone entity and wish her the very best."
Heitz brings deep finance and strategic expertise to Pursuit. He joins Pursuit after a decade with Vail Resorts, where he held leadership roles spanning corporate development, investor relations, capital markets, and financial planning and analysis. Most recently, Heitz served as Vice President of Corporate and Mountain Finance. Earlier in his career, he worked in private equity at The Riverside Company and in investment banking at William Blair & Company.
"We are delighted to have someone of Bo's caliber join the team at such an important time," said David Barry, President and future Chief Executive Officer of Pursuit. "He possesses both extensive financial capabilities as well as invaluable experience in the leisure and hospitality space. This makes him an ideal addition to Pursuit's leadership team as we look to capitalize on the substantial growth opportunities that exist as a pure-play, high-growth, high-return business."
"Pursuit is an innovator and industry leader with exceptional assets, resources and capabilities," said Heitz. "I am excited to join as Pursuit embarks on a new chapter of growth and look forward to working closely with David and the entire team to drive successful execution against the Company's strategic growth objectives."
As previously announced, Pursuit will launch as a standalone publicly traded company upon the sale of Viad's GES business, which is expected to close on December 31, 2024. As an independent, high-growth and high margin business, Pursuit will have the financial flexibility and balance sheet capacity to accelerate its Refresh, Build, Buy growth strategy and capitalize on its substantial growth prospects in the attractions and hospitality space. Upon completion of the transaction, Viad intends to change its corporate name and relaunch as Pursuit and change its NYSE common stock ticker symbol to PRSU.
About Viad
Viad (NYSE:VVI) is a leading global provider of extraordinary experiences, including attractions, hospitality, exhibition services, and experiential marketing through two businesses: Pursuit and GES. Our business strategy focuses on delivering extraordinary experiences for our teams, clients and guests, and significant and sustainable growth and above-market returns for our shareholders. Viad is an S&P SmallCap 600 company.
Pursuit is an attractions and hospitality company that owns and operates a collection of inspiring and unforgettable experiences in iconic destinations in the United States, Canada, and Iceland. Pursuit's elevated hospitality experiences include 14 world-class point-of-interest attractions and 28 distinctive lodges, along with integrated restaurants, retail and transportation that enable visitors to discover and connect with stunning national parks and renowned global travel locations.
GES is a global exhibition services and experiential marketing company offering a comprehensive range of services to the world's leading event organizers and brands through two reportable segments, GES Exhibitions and Spiro. GES Exhibitions is a global exhibition and trade show management business that partners with leading exhibition and conference organizers as a full-service provider of strategic and logistics solutions to manage the complexity of their shows with teams throughout North America, Europe, and the Middle East. Spiro is a global experiential marketing agency that partners with leading brands around the world to manage and elevate their experiential marketing activities, bonding brand and customer.
For more information, visit www.viad.com.
Forward- Looking Statements
This press release contains a number of forward-looking statements. Words, and variations of words, such as "will," "can," "may," "expect," "would," "could," "might," "intend," "plan," "believe," "estimate," "anticipate," "deliver," "seek," "aim," "potential," "target," "outlook," and similar expressions are intended to identify our forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include those that address activities, events or developments that Viad or its management believes or anticipates may occur in the future, including all statements regarding expectations concerning Pursuit's opportunities and performance as a standalone public company, the expected timing of the closing of the GES transaction and the expected Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer transitions in connection with the closing of the GES transaction. Similarly, statements that describe our go-forward business strategy, objectives, plans, intentions, or goals also are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts and are subject to a host of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in our forward-looking statements are set forth under Item 1A, "Risk Factors," of our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and in our most recent Current Report on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC. We disclaim and do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement in this press release except as required by applicable law or regulation.
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