PROVIDENCE – R.I. Commerce Corp.’s Chief Marketing Officer Lara Salamano is leaving the administration to return to the private sector in mid-January, according to Commerce RI Monday.
Salamano oversaw the marketing of the state for roughly two and a half years, including during the launch of the attention-garnering “Fun-Sized” state-marketing campaign.
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“We are grateful that Lara, a native Rhode Islander, came home to lend her talents to the state’s marketing efforts,” said R.I. Commerce Secretary Stefan Pryor in a statement. “In her time here, Lara has successfully promoted Rhode Island as the best place in America to visit and do business. Under her leadership, the ‘Fun-Sized’ tourism digital ads have generated more than $3 million in hotel revenue, leading to over 10,500 new direct hotel bookings and nearly 8,000 flight bookings. Working collaboratively with our tourism regions, Lara served as an ambassador for our state, ever explaining the important role tourism plays in Rhode Island’s economy. We thank Lara for all of her efforts and wish her well in her future endeavors.”
Commerce said that it will begin a search for Salamano’s successor, taking input from the state’s tourism regions. The agency did not immediately return questions as to where in the private sector Salamano was going.
“Rhode Island is on the move, and as long as I’ve lived here, we’ve never had a better story to tell,” said Salamano in a statement Monday. “I’ll miss working with the governor and her team but am excited to remain in Rhode Island. I’ll always be an ambassador for our state and will continue to do so as I return to the private sector early next year.”
Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor. Email him at Bergenheim@PBN.com.