David Gilbert
Organization:Greater Cleveland Sports Commission
David Gilbert serves as president & CEO of Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, an organization dedicated to make Greater Cleveland the nation’s foremost destination for amateur sporting events and activities, and Destination Cleveland, the region’s convention and visitors’ bureau. He re-established the Sports Commission in 2000 and assumed his role with Destination Cleveland in 2011. From April 2015 through December 2016, David also served as the president and CEO of the Cleveland 2016 Host Committee for the Republican National Convention.
The Sports Commission is responsible for attracting, promoting, and managing major amateur athletic events and for creating sporting opportunities for youth and amateur athletes. Since its re-founding in 2000, the organization has had significant success by attracting or creating more than 190 events including the NCAA Women’s Final Four, National Senior Games, NBC Gravity Games, U.S. Figure Skating Championships, U.S. Gymnastics Championships, International Children’s Games, McDonald’s All-American High School Basketball Game, the U.S. Boxing Olympic Trials and more than 25 NCAA championship competitions. These events have contributed more than $560 million in local economic impact.
At Destination Cleveland, Gilbert oversees a staff of more than 50 and is responsible for carrying out the organization’s mission to drive economic impact and stimulate community vitality by positioning and promoting Cleveland as an exciting, vibrant destination. From 2011 through 2015, the number of visitors to Cuyahoga County increased 18 percent from 14.6 million to 17.6 million, contributing $8.1 billion to the local economy. In 2015, Cuyahoga County’s tourism industry employed nearly 66,000 people, supporting 1 in 12 salaried jobs.
Prior to his current positions, Gilbert served as director of community affairs and special projects for the Convention and Visitors Bureau of Greater Cleveland (CVB) where he was responsible for advancing Cleveland’s travel and tourism service standards and related activities. Prior to joining the CVB, Gilbert served as executive director of North Coast Harbor, Inc., a local development corporation responsible for the master plan and marketing of Cleveland’s downtown lakefront development district. Earlier, he served as director of corporate development for The Cleveland Play House, the longest-running professional theater in the United States.
Gilbert serves as vice president on the board of the International Children’s Games, based in Lausanne, Switzerland, and sits of the boards of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Greater Cleveland Film Commission, and the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage. He is a member of the 50 Club of Cleveland, a networking organization for Cleveland’s business leadership, and is a member of the Leadership Cleveland Class of 2001. He was named by Crain’s Cleveland Business as one of Cleveland’s “30 influencers of the past 30 years,” one of Cleveland’s “40 under 40,” and a 2016 Newsmaker of the Year. In 2011 he received the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Northeast Ohio Non-Profit Award; in 2014, he received the Medical Mutual Pillar Award as the Non-Profit Executive of the Year; and, in 2016, he received the SME Cleveland Business Executive of the Year Award.
Gilbert has a Bachelor of Arts degree in marketing from The Ohio State University and an MBA from Cleveland State University. He also holds an honorary doctorate degree from Baldwin Wallace University. He resides in Solon with his wife, Faith, daughter, Emily, and son, Bradley. He enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, marathon running and cycling
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