Anna Marie Presutti has always been a rising star within the travel industry. Her career started right after graduating from Missouri State University, at which time the Kansas-born Presutti followed her own yellow-brick road with a position at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Then, after several ground-breaking positions, prestigious industry awards, and professional board positions, Presutti’s latest post is at the San Francisco Travel Association as President/CEO. She is the first female executive to hold that position at SFTA, the city and county’s official destination marketing organization.
Her job will be to oversee one of the country’s oldest and largest membership-based tourism promotion organizations, one that markets and sells the destination globally to attract conventions, meetings, and leisure travelers.
“After an extensive search spanned the country, the Executive Search Committee realized the best candidate was already in the job. Anna Marie is the ultimate champion of San Francisco and a bold, experienced leader,” said San Francisco Travel Board Chair John Anderson. “As a two-time SF Travel Board Chair, Anna Marie is deeply familiar with the organization, its customers and its culture, and her continued leadership will drive the marketing and awareness of this destination.”
Presutti responded, “I am passionate about this city and have been a part of San Francisco’s tourism industry for over twenty years. We have much to look forward to as we emerge from this challenging time. My priority is to lean into the momentum building and return our convention business to a healthy level. We will invest in marketing San Francisco’s great strengths, including its culinary scene and arts and culture, and collaborate with other organizations, such as the Bay Area Host Committee, to bring more world-class events here.”
Breaking barriers is nothing new for Presutti. Prior to accepting her new role, she was Vice President and General Manager of Hotel Nikko San Francisco and the first female vice president of Tokyo-based Nikko Hotels International (2006).
Before joining Hotel Nikko San Francisco in 2004, Presutti served as area director of sales and marketing for Kimpton Hotels, also in San Francisco. Her experience includes ITT Sheraton, Hilton Hotels, and Sunstone Hotel Properties leadership positions.
She is consistently recognized for her work. Appropriately, the San Francisco Business Times named her one of “The Most Influential Women in the Bay Area,” and the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) called her “Outstanding General Manager of the Year.” She was also awarded the Hotel Council of San Francisco’s “Peter Goldman Award of Excellence” and the Northern California Chapter PCMA’s “Legend Award.”
Presutti currently serves on the U.S. Travel Association and the Hotel Council of San Francisco boards. She also sits on Okura Nikko Management Company’s board of directors and Missouri State University Foundation’s board of trustees.
We at F&D congratulate Anne Marie, a superstar of one of the country’s leading destinations.