For the past 12 years, Steve Goodling has led the Long Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau (LBCVB), an organization that makes up a vital part of Long Beach’s economic health where overnight visitors generate more than $300 million annually and support nearly 7,000 local jobs.

In Long Beach, Steve has worked with the City, SMG and hospitality partners to reposition and enhance the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center and its surrounding areas. Steve and the LBCVB Board of Directors were instrumental in installing one of the first LED lighting projects of a downtown area in Southern California, pulling together a variety of community partners.

When Long Beach was the host city for the TED conference, Steve and his team observed how the conference design was created and incorporated many of its concepts into developing innovative and functional meeting and event space throughout the building. This includes the soon-to-be opened Pacific Ballroom at the Long Beach Arena – Southern California’s newest special events space.

In addition, Steve was involved in the recent terminal modernization of Long Beach Airport. His insight in the interior terminal design process was used to help represent the essence of the city and its Southern California outdoor living lifestyle by incorporating elements such as outdoor fire pits, a wine bar and modern, open breezeways. This design work and repositioning of both Long Beach Airport and the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center have been noted in major media outlets such as the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.

Before his time in Long Beach, Steve was Director of Marketing for North America with Shangri-La Hotels, a Hong Kong-based company operating luxury resorts throughout Asia. He was also with Marriott Corporation for a decade.

Steve serves on the Board of Directors for the California Coalition of Equality and Justice (CCEJ), Long Beach Education Foundation and has assisted dozens of organizations in Long Beach, including Children Today, Ronald McDonald House, Millers Children’s Hospital, Boy Scouts, Cambodia Town and the NAACP.