Richard Goldman

In December 2022, Richard Goldman retired as the President & CEO of the St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches Visitors and Convention Bureau where he was responsible for maintaining and enhancing the area’s success as a popular tourism and meetings destination. During his tenure, 2009-2022, he oversaw a 4X increase in Tourism Development Tax collections and a successful rebranding of the destination, he and his team also directed rapid recoveries for the tourism industry in St. Johns County following the Deepwater Horizon disaster, impacts of multiple hurricanes and the Covid-19 Pandemic.

Prior to joining the Bureau in 2009, Goldman served as the senior vice president and chief marketing officer for Amelia Island Plantation where he managed a 13-member in-house advertising and marketing operation.

As chairman of VISIT FLORIDA’s Board of Directors and with company executives, Goldman facilitated the reorganization of VISIT FLORIDA into a more streamlined marketing company. He continues to serve on VISIT FLORIDA’S Florida Tourism Council of Leaders. He is also past vice chair of the Florida Commission on Tourism and past chair of Florida’s First Coast of Golf, a regional destination marketing organization. Goldman also serves as an active member of the Florida State Parks Foundation Board of Directors and the Advisory Board of the University of Florida Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management Department.

A graduate of the University of Florida, he started his career at Ogilvy & Mather advertising agency in New York and spent 17 years working for Ryder & Schild Advertising in Miami, including 10 years as the firm’s vice president for marketing and research. With a passion for metrics, Goldman brings a focus on accountability to tourism marketing. Goldman resides in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida (since 1998) with his artist wife Sharon; they have three grown daughters.