Anthony Cordo began his new role as president and CEO of the Greensboro Area Convention & Visitors Bureau in July last year, replacing the North Carolina organization’s longtime leader, Henri Fourrier, who retired last June after 28 years in the position. Although the Ohio native is new to the area, he displays a contagious enthusiasm for tackling any and all obstacles thrown his way.
“I’m definitely one of those people who believes [in the saying], ‘Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good,’ and that you should keep pushing forward—keep moving, keep moving, keep moving,” he says. And moving is something Cordo knows well, having lived in five states and worked for five destination marketing organizations over the years in Ohio, Texas, Maryland, Florida, and now, North Carolina.
Following a brief stint in event production after graduating college, Cordo began his tourism career with Experience Columbus in his home state, and the rest is history. “It has always been something that’s fun for me, I think, being able to do something that helps your community—drives tourism and drives money into your community—and also is just an enjoyable industry to be in,” he says. “You’re interacting with people who, by and large, are in a good mood and happy to be doing what they’re doing, and I love that.”
Before heading to Greensboro, Cordo served as executive vice president of Visit Lauderdale in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. After some seven years with that organization, he was looking for a growth opportunity, and the position in Greensboro caught his eye.
“[The Greensboro Area Convention & Visitors Bureau] has a strong foundation, but I could see [before I started] that there was a ways to go and an opportunity to take things to the next level,” Cordo says. “I don’t want to go to a place that’s already at its peak or stagnant and unable to move up. I want to really make a mark on the community and do something to challenge myself. Greensboro was that perfect match.”
Right now, Greensboro is making a big push for meetings, and the convention and visitors bureau is working to better leverage the area’s convenient location and its status as home to one of the largest convention hotels on the East Coast, Sheraton Greensboro at Four Seasons, to bring in conferences.
Cordo says one of his goals for the year is to explore and get to know everything about his new community “Especially when you’re in a new place, [it’s good to] go to every festival and do every attraction,” he says. “No matter where you are, there’s always something amazing in your backyard to take advantage of.”
