Mark is President/CEO of the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation. The city agency promotes New Orleans as a leisure tourism destination throughout the year. Annually, NOTMC’s marketing campaigns include strategic print, broadcast and Internet advertising and public relations. NOTMC is known for its cutting-edge web and social media presence. Mark is also the stadium announcer for the New Orleans Saints, succeeding his father, Jerry who served in the same role for 44 years.
Prior to joining NOTMC, Mark served as Vice-President of Marketing and Public Relations for HCA Inc. – Delta Division (Hospital Corporation of America). Prior to HCA, Mark had a sixteen-year career at Peter A. Mayer Advertising. Named Top Executive by the Advertising Club of New Orleans in 2002, he was promoted to President of Peter A. Mayer Advertising’s Public Relations Division in 2004, managing a staff of ten professionals and dozens of clients. From 1985 to 1987, and then again for a brief period in 1988, Mark served on the Secretary’s staff at the U.S. Department of Transportation in Washington, D.C. There, he worked as a Staff Assistant to Secretary Elizabeth H. Dole, and also performed a similar role for Mrs. Dole during her husband’s run for the presidential nomination in 1987-88. Prior to moving to Washington, D.C., Mark was Director of Protocol and Guest Relations for the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition (1984 World’s Fair) from 1982 - 1984. Immediately following the World’s Fair, he served a brief stint as Executive Director of LaFete, New Orleans’ Summer Festival, the non-profit organization promoting New Orleans during the summer months. Prior to joining the World’s Fair team, Mark was part of the team that developed the New Orleans Inter-Continental Hotel, and was hired as its first National Sales Manager.
Active in his community, Mark, along with his father Jerry, served as Co-Chair of the Media & PR Committee for the 2013 Super Bowl XLVII Host Committee and worked in a volunteer leadership role for the city’s participation in the 2012 Bicentennial of the War of 1812 (NOLA Navy Week). He is a member of the Board of Trustees and Board Secretary for Xavier University of Louisiana. Mark also is a member of the Board of Directors of the Emeril Lagasse Foundation and Audubon Nature Institute. He is affiliated with City Year – Louisiana, serving as a City Year – Louisiana Champion. He is also a member of the New Orleans City Park Board of Commissioners, Covenant House of New Orleans and the New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame.
Mark is Chairman of the Board of The Idea Village and is a member of the Fore!Kids Foundation, producer of the annual PGA TOUR ‘s Zurich Classic of New Orleans. He is a former President and Chairman of the Board of the Sugar Bowl Committee, heading up the organization during Hurricane Katrina, when the annual event was temporarily relocated to Atlanta (currently a member of the Executive Committee). He has also served as Chairman of the Board of Project Lazarus and the Southern Repertory Theater. Mark is past International President of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity (TKE), and is a former board member of the TKE Educational Foundation. Mark is a graduate of the New Orleans Regional Leadership Institute and Leadership Louisiana. For several years Mark taught public relations courses at Tulane’s University College.
Mark graduated from Brother Martin High School and attended the University of New Orleans, where he received his B.S. from the School of Business Administration (School of Hotel, Restaurant and Tourism Administration) in 1978. While in college, Mark interned at the Royal Orleans Hotel, working in several departments to gain experience and credit toward his degree. He was named the school’s outstanding alumnus in 2012. Mark is a member of St. Rita Parish in New Orleans. He was also honored by the Young Leadership Council as a Role Model and received St. Elizabeth’s Guild Volunteer Activist Award in 2008.
Current role