Adamo named head of Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau

PROVIDENCE – The Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau has named its vice president of marketing and communications as its new president and CEO, the organization announced Friday.

Kristen Adamo, who’s worked for the PWCVB since 2005, will assume her new role on April 25. She succeeds Martha Sheridan, who departed in December to start leading the Boston CVB in February.

She hopes to continue to tap into the current growth in Providence and Warwick’s hospitality sectors by promoting the cities’ culinary and arts scenes in particular.

Adamo, 49, spent years at the PWCVB spreading the word about local food and arts, and considers the industries a marketing cornerstone for generating tourism activity.

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“This is a really pivotal time in these cities and I think we have to work with our business communities and hoteliers and really make sure all these new flights and new hotel rooms are being used to their full potential,” she said.

Adamo first served as the PWCVB’s director of communications. She was promoted to vice president in 2007, becoming the main force for marketing and communications by working with advertising, public relations, online presence and special programs.

Her time at the PSCVB has been marked by Providence being named “America’s Favorite City” by Travel + Leisure magazine, the receipt of an Outstanding Sports Marketing award from the National Association of Sports Commissions, and the launch of Providence Restaurant Weeks.

“Kristen was selected after a thorough and comprehensive process led by a search committee working with Searchwide Global, an executive recruitment firm primarily focused on the travel and tourism industry,” Kimberly Greene, PWCVB’s chairwoman and area general manager of TPG Hotels and Resorts said in a statement.

Adamo’s list of honors includes being a recipient of Providence Business News’ “40 Under 40” list and recognition as Hospitality Ambassador of the year by the Rhode Island Hospitality Association in 2014.

She serves on the boards of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, the Roger Williams Park Zoo, the Rhode Island Film Festival and StyleWeek Northeast.

Elizabeth Graham is a Providence Business News staff writer. Email her at graham@PBN.com.