An 18-year veteran of the Irving Convention and Visitors Bureau, Maura Gast was named its executive director in October 2003. A leading destination for business travel, Irving welcomed 2.97 million visitors in 2008, who in turn invested $1.53 billion in this town of 200,000, which is also home to the world headquarters of ExxonMobil, Zale Jewelers, Flowserve and Fluor, and serves as a major national or regional headquarters for Research in Motion (the parent company of Blackberry), Kimberly Clark, NEC, Nokia, and many other prominent corporate brands.
Recognized as an industry expert on technology and marketing issues, and a trailblazer on recognizing tourism as a vital component of economic development, Gast became the chair of Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI), the third female chair in the organization’s history, in July 2008. She chaired DMAI’s recently completed Futures Study task force, and has just finished a term on the inaugural Destination Marketing Accreditation Program board. She has developed curriculum for the association’s Program in Destination Management (PDM) and leads several courses at its conferences and other industry forums. She has earned the industry’s highest educational designation, Fellow Certified Destination Management Executive. In her spare time in Irving, she serves on the Boards of Directors for the Irving Salvation Army, Irving Rotary Club and Greater Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce.
Before joining the hospitality industry, Gast spent time in the retail and newspaper worlds, in a variety of sales, marketing and event management roles. She is a graduate of St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, and spent most of her childhood years in San Angelo, Texas. An Air Force “brat,” Maura’s family spent its primary tours of duty in the Philippines and Taiwan.
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Maura Allen Gast, FCDME