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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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241217870287/en/
Carrie Long or Michelle Porhola Investor Relations (602)
207-2681 ir@viad.com
Scott Bisang or Nick Lamplough Media Relations
Pursuit-CS@collectedstrategies.com
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