Gary Sherwin
President & CEO
A 40-year hospitality industry veteran, Gary C. Sherwin, CDME, APR, has served as President and CEO of Visit Newport Beach since 2006 and oversees the global destination marketing organization that promotes Newport Beach, California, as a premiere luxury conference and leisure destination.
He is also the past board chairman of the Orange County Tourism Council, the California Travel Association, the state’s leading umbrella tourism advocacy organization and Destinations International, and the global trade association for destination marketing organizations.
He is also a founder of the Newport Beach Foundation, which encourages civic leadership in the city with its Distinguished Citizen Program which has generated dozens of graduates who now serve on the city council, several boards and commissions, as well as other non-profits in Orange County.
He is a founding member and current co-chairman of the California Travel Industry Association Political Action Committee, a nonpartisan organization dedicated to fostering Tourism Champions in state government. In 2023, he received its Brad Burlingame Award for his long-standing service to industry advocacy in Sacramento.
Prior to joining Newport Beach, Sherwin served as the Vice President of Market Development for the Palm Springs Desert Resorts Convention & Visitors Authority, the Vice President of Marketing for the Long Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the Director of Media Relations for the Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau.
A nationally recognized leader and consultant in community brand development. Sherwin co-authored the international best-selling book Destination BrandScience TM, published by the International Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus (now known as Destinations International). Sherwin also served as a faculty member and board chair for the Destination Marketing Association International Certified Destination Management Executive Program.
He has also served as an adjunct faculty member at California State University, Fullerton for its Travel and Tourism course and also served as the chairman of the university’s Center for Entertainment and Tourism Communications Advisory Board of Directors. He also served as a board member of the Dean’s Advisory Council.
Sherwin holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and Political Science from California State University, Fullerton. He received the university’s Vision and Visionary Award, its highest alumni honor. He was also named to the Department of Communications Wall of Fame.
He has been married to Liz, a television talent agent, for the past 37 years. They have two daughters, Lauren, a mental health therapist, and Allyson, a marketing executive.