Northwest suburban tourism bureau names new sales director

Meet Chicago Northwest, the official destination marketing organization for Chicago's Northwest suburbs, has selected Gus Martinez to lead the organization's sales effort as the director of sales.

Martinez will manage a team of three sales account executives and handle the professional association markets in Metro-DC as well as the cultural markets nationwide.

An 18-year veteran of the hospitality industry, he most recently worked with Maritz Global Events as a national account manager. His experience in the convention and visitor bureau world began as a regional director of sales for Cincinnati USA and then on to Visit Milwaukee, where he spent six years working as the convention sales and diversity manager.

"We are very excited to have Gus on our team," said Heather Larson, president of Meet Chicago Northwest. "He is a dynamic sales professional with strong hospitality sales experience. We are confident he will be able to lead our sales effort through these challenging times and contribute to the success of our region's hospitality recovery."

Martinez, a Chicago native, is a graduate of the University of Illinois at Chicago with a degree in marketing. He earned z Diversity and Inclusion Certificate from Cornell University.