Visit California has named Julie Coker as its next president and chief executive officer, with the board of directors of the state's nonprofit destination marketing organization selecting her unanimously. Coker, who currently leads NYC Tourism + Conventions, takes office on 1 October 2026 and becomes only the second chief executive in the organization's history. She will simultaneously serve as a strategic advisor to the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development.
Coker succeeds Caroline Beteta, who announced in January 2026 that she would retire after leading Visit California since its creation in 1998, and a structured transition between the two is underway to ensure continuity of programs, campaigns and partnerships. The appointment concludes a global search conducted with SearchWide Global, the executive search firm specializing in the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors. "The opportunity before us is generational and calls for a leader with exceptional range and a track record of results. Julie is exactly that leader," said Ken Potrock, chair of Visit California's board of directors and of the selection committee, and president of major events integration at The Walt Disney Company.
Coker brings more than three decades of hospitality and destination marketing experience. She has led NYC Tourism + Conventions, New York City's official destination marketing organization, since December 2024. From 2020 to 2024 she was president and chief executive of the San Diego Tourism Authority, steering the city's tourism recovery to 14.3 billion dollars in visitor spending, the restoration of more than 200,000 tourism jobs and a third-place national ranking in hotel occupancy. Before San Diego she spent a decade at the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, rising from senior vice president to president and chief executive and helping Philadelphia land the 2016 Democratic National Convention and the 2017 NFL Draft, and she began her career with 21 years at Hyatt Hotels, rising to general manager of the Hyatt Regency Philadelphia. She knows her new employer from the inside, having served on Visit California's board as vice chair of marketing and as a member of its executive and nominating committees.
Visit California is the industry-led body that markets the state as a travel destination in the United States and abroad. Funded by more than 18,000 industry investor businesses, it won a 98.3 percent approval rate at its most recent marketing renewal referendum, and travel-related spending in the state reached 158.9 billion dollars in 2025. The organization faces an exceptional event cycle: California hosted FIFA World Cup matches in two cities in 2026, SoFi Stadium in Inglewood stages Super Bowl LXI in February 2027, and Los Angeles hosts the 2028 Summer and Paralympic Games.
The selection reads as a bet on event delivery. Coker's record spans exactly the kind of city-scale conventions, sporting events and recovery campaigns that the coming three years will demand of the state, and her prior Visit California board service suggests the organization prized continuity as much as fresh leadership. The October start also gives her a full quarter of overlap ahead of the Super Bowl year; an orderly handover from a 28-year incumbent is an advantage few incoming destination chiefs enjoy, though converting a once-in-a-generation event calendar into durable visitation growth beyond 2028 will be the tenure's real test.
