2026 CEO Summit

Welcome ashore. The Welcome Port serves as your home base throughout the Destinations International CEO Summit—a place to pause, get your bearings, and chart what’s next. Much like the harbors that connect our coastal communities, this space is designed to support connection, ease of navigation, and thoughtful guidance throughout your time in Newport Beach. Whether you’re seeking schedule details, local insights, transportation assistance, or recommendations beyond the agenda, our CEO Concierge team is here as a steady hand—helping you move seamlessly from one moment to the next.

Consider this your first and final port of call during the Summit. We’re glad you’re here!

Visit Newport Beach welcomes guests to a refined reception celebrating 120 years of hospitality, heritage and leisure, ushering in the destination’s anniversary year. A vintage-inspired seaside display sets the tone, paired with curated moments and an elevated coastal setting designed for meaningful connection. An evening to drop anchor, exchange ideas and celebrate over a century of the art of leisure at its most elevated.

Welcome ashore. The Welcome Port serves as your home base throughout the Destinations International CEO Summit—a place to pause, get your bearings, and chart what’s next. Much like the harbors that connect our coastal communities, this space is designed to support connection, ease of navigation, and thoughtful guidance throughout your time in Newport Beach. Whether you’re seeking schedule details, local insights, transportation assistance, or recommendations beyond the agenda, our CEO Concierge team is here as a steady hand—helping you move seamlessly from one moment to the next.

Consider this your first and final port of call during the Summit. We’re glad you’re here!

Deepak Malhotra is the Eli Goldston Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and an internationally recognized authority on negotiation, deal-making and conflict resolution. Named MBA Professor of the Year by Poets & Quants and twice selected by Harvard MBA students to deliver their end-of-year address, Malhotra is known for translating complex negotiation theory into practical, high-stakes leadership insight.

A trusted advisor to CEOs, global organizations and governments, his work focuses on navigating uncertainty, resolving conflict and negotiating outcomes when the stakes are highest. He is the award-winning author of Negotiating the Impossible, Negotiation Genius, and I Moved Your Cheese, and currently serves as Faculty Chair of Harvard’s Owner/President Management Program.

Destination leadership has entered a new era — one where expectations are higher, scrutiny is broader, and confidence is harder to earn. CEOs are no longer operating behind the scenes; they are leading in full view of boards, elected officials, residents and stakeholders who are asking tougher questions and expecting clearer answers. In this environment, the way destinations define success — and prove it — matters more than ever.

This moderated panel features destination CEOs who are leaning into that reality and choosing to lead differently. The discussion will unpack the pressure created when organizations rely on familiar but increasingly questioned approaches, including reporting results that feel disconnected from tangible community outcomes. Panelists will share how they are navigating the discomfort of change, addressing skepticism head-on and evolving their organizations to meet the expectations of today, not yesterday.

Moderated by Chuck Davison of Tourism Economics, the session is designed to be candid, thought-provoking and future-focused. It challenges the audience to reflect on what leadership looks like when everyone is watching, and how transparency, strategic insight, and economic relevance can become tools for reducing pressure rather than amplifying it. The goal is not incremental improvement, but a fundamental shift in how destination leaders think, decide and deliver value to their communities.

Set against the coastal elegance of The Resort at Pelican Hill, this special evening brings together destination leaders from across the country and beyond to honor Caroline Beteta as she closes a chapter in her remarkable career.

For three decades, Caroline has been a guiding force in shaping California’s brand, elevating the voice of DMOs statewide, and championing collaboration, innovation, and stewardship across the travel and tourism industry. Her leadership has strengthened California’s global standing and created a lasting imprint on the people and places she supported along the way.

You’re invited to gather in celebration and sincere appreciation—recognizing a legacy defined by vision, partnership and an enduring commitment to the industry she serves.

Welcome ashore. The Welcome Port serves as your home base throughout the Destinations International CEO Summit—a place to pause, get your bearings, and chart what’s next. Much like the harbors that connect our coastal communities, this space is designed to support connection, ease of navigation, and thoughtful guidance throughout your time in Newport Beach. Whether you’re seeking schedule details, local insights, transportation assistance, or recommendations beyond the agenda, our CEO Concierge team is here as a steady hand—helping you move seamlessly from one moment to the next.

Consider this your first and final port of call during the Summit. We’re glad you’re here!

Executive compensation within destination organizations continues to be closely examined by media, policymakers, and community stakeholders. At the same time, expectations placed on destination leaders have expanded significantly, requiring expertise in economic development, public policy, community engagement, workforce strategy and crisis management.

As part of Destinations International’s ongoing research and benchmarking efforts, emerging findings suggest a growing need for clearer frameworks, stronger board alignment and more proactive communication strategies around executive compensation. Leaders are navigating increased scrutiny while also competing for top talent in a complex and highly visible environment.

As destination organizations evolve, so do expectations around leadership structure and compensation. CEOs are navigating increased scrutiny, board dynamics, pay compression, incentive design and talent competition — often within political and funding constraints that benchmarking data alone doesn’t capture.

This 45-minute Leadership Exchange creates a confidential, peer-driven space for CEOs to explore how executive structures are shifting, where compensation pressure is most acute, and what obstacles are making pay scale decisions more complex.

The goal is not to share salary figures, but to surface structural trends and real-world barriers that can inform both peer strategy and broader research in the compensation space.