Nashville Names Chicago Convention Sales Veteran Cahal Mowery as New Tourism Sales Chief

The former Choose Chicago vice president starts November 16, bringing more than 15 years of meetings and hotel experience across major US destinations.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Cahal Mowery will become chief sales officer of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp on November 16, 2026.
• He joins from Choose Chicago, where he was vice president of sales for citywide conventions and meetings.
• His previous roles span Visit Denver, Visit Houston and JW Marriott Houston Downtown.
• NCVC says his appointment will support efforts to attract convention, group and tourism business to Nashville.

Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp (NCVC) is bringing in a convention-sales executive with experience in three major US meeting destinations as it prepares for the next phase of competition for conferences, group travel and visitor business. Cahal Mowery, most recently vice president of sales at Choose Chicago, is due to become the organisation’s chief sales officer on November 16, 2026.

The appointment puts a veteran of Chicago, Denver and Houston destination sales in charge of efforts to attract meetings and tourism business to Tennessee’s capital. Mowery has more than 15 years of experience spanning convention bureaus and hotel sales, according to the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp.

From Chicago’s citywide conventions to Nashville’s visitor economy

At Choose Chicago, Mowery helped oversee a sales operation seeking conventions and meetings for the McCormick Place convention complex and a network of more than 150 hotel partners. His work included coordinating the destination’s sales approach with the convention centre, hotels and event customers. NCVC credits those wider efforts with contributing to Chicago’s 2025 results of 65 citywide conventions and 2.8 million room nights booked.

Those figures underline the importance of convention sales beyond the event venue itself: a major booking can generate demand across accommodation providers and other visitor-facing businesses. In Nashville, Mowery’s remit will span convention and tourism sales as the destination seeks to translate its Music City profile into future group business.

Deana Ivey, NCVC president and chief executive officer, said Mowery’s record in Chicago, Denver and Houston would bring valuable perspective to Nashville’s efforts to compete for meetings and events. The organisation said it expects him to work with local tourism and hospitality partners to attract additional business.

A career across destination marketing and hotel operations

Mowery began his career with Visit Houston after graduating from the University of Houston’s Conrad N. Hilton College of Global Hospitality Leadership. He spent six years representing convention-sales markets before moving into hotel management as director of sales and catering at JW Marriott Houston Downtown.

He later spent five years at Visit Denver as director of convention sales. There he worked with the Colorado Convention Center and the hotel community on convention-sales strategy, destination development and post-pandemic recovery initiatives before moving to Chicago.

Mowery said Nashville’s combination of a recognisable destination identity and an established hospitality industry attracted him to the role. He described plans to collaborate with NCVC colleagues and local partners to bring more customers to the city and support business that benefits the destination.

Alongside his practical experience, Mowery holds an MBA from the C.T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston. His professional qualifications include Certified Destination Management Executive, Certified Meeting Professional and MPI Verified Facilitator.

For Nashville’s hotels, conference venues and meeting planners, the leadership change is relevant to the longer-term pipeline of group bookings rather than an immediate change to visitor services. NCVC markets the city to convention organisers and leisure travellers through its Visit Music City destination brand.