Viad Corp (NYSE:VVI) today announced that it has strengthened its leadership team with two key appointments. Derek Linde joined Viad on April 30 as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, and Jay Altizer will join the company on May 14 as President, North America at GES.
Steve Moster, president and chief executive officer of Viad, said, “I am excited to welcome Derek and Jay to the Viad team. They are both proven leaders who will add important bench strength and expertise to help drive our strategic growth goals. I look forward to working closely with each of them as we work to further scale the Pursuit business and position GES as the preferred global, full-service provider for live events.”
Linde will manage Viad’s legal function and advise the organization on legal, strategic and compliance matters. He brings significant experience with mergers and acquisitions, securities and capital markets, corporate governance and SEC matters, and in providing strategic and legal services to diversified, global businesses. He joins Viad from Illinois Tool Works Inc. (NYSE: ITW), where he was Deputy General Counsel and Assistant Secretary, and he was previously a partner at Winston & Strawn LLP. Linde holds a J.D. from the Vanderbilt School of Law and a B.A. from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Altizer will lead GES’ exhibition and conference business in the United States and Canada with a focus on accelerating growth and margin improvement. He brings extensive management experience, including a proven ability to drive profitable growth in competitive industries through operational excellence, business development and product innovation. He has successfully led teams at Dean Foods, PepsiCo, and Bain & Company. Altizer holds an MBA from Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, and a B.S. in both Management and Management Science from Virginia Tech.
About Viad
Viad (NYSE: VVI) generates revenue and shareholder value through two business units: GES and Pursuit. GES is a global, full-service live events company offering a comprehensive range of services to the world’s leading brands and event organizers. Pursuit is a collection of iconic travel experiences in Alaska, Montana and Western Canada that showcase the best of Banff, Jasper, Waterton Lakes, Glacier, Denali and Kenai Fjords national parks. Viad is an S&P SmallCap 600 company. For more information about Viad, visit www.viad.com.
