Mark Romig (center) before a New Orleans Saints game Dec. 30, 2018, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. (Photo by Jeff Strout, The Advocate)
Mark Romig, president of the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation, speaks a during the ribbon-cutting ceremony April 3, 2019 (Photo by David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune)
Mark Romig
Kyle Campbell, New Orleans Saints Director of Game Day Entertainment; Tony Melito, defense spotter; Mark Romig, stadium announcer for the New Orleans Saints; and Norman Bennett Jr., SMG sound man watching the result of a play during New Orleans Saints game against the Carolina Panthers, Dec. 30, 2018, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Mark Romig (center) before a New Orleans Saints game Dec. 30, 2018, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. (Photo by Jeff Strout, The Advocate)
Mark Romig, one of the New Orleans tourism industry’s most respected leaders, is stepping down as chief marketing officer at New Orleans & Company after decades promoting the city.
Romig will leave his full-time position in the spring, after the city hosts the Super Bowl and another Carnival season, but he will continue to advise tourism leaders as a part-time consultant, according to a news release issued by New Orleans & Co. this week.
He has no plans, however, to hand over the microphone at the Caesars Superdome, where he has been the play-by-play announcer for Saints games since taking over the job from his father more than a decade ago.
Mark Romig
Romig joined New Orleans & Company after leading the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation, known as NOTMC, from 2011 to 2019. The two organizations merged in 2020. In an interview Thursday, Romig said it was time for him to step back and spend more time with family.
“I’m going to turn 69 in January,” Romig said. “I’m at that point in my life where I feel like I’ve built up some time that I can take for myself.”
At NOTMC, Romig led a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign promoting New Orleans’ tricentennial in 2018. At New Orleans & Co., he is credited for steady leadership during the coronavirus pandemic. At both, he helped launch marketing campaigns that helped bring record numbers of visitors to the city over the last decade.
The city’s peak tourism year was 2019, when 19.75 million visitors came to town, according to industry data.
Before joining the tourism promotion organizations, Romig, a graduate of Brother Martin High School and the University of New Orleans, worked in various roles in hospitality, as well as in politics and public relations.
The news release announcing Romig’s decision included words of praise from Saints and Pelicans owner Gayle Benson, real estate developer Darryl Berger, and New Orleans & Co. chief Walt Leger, who described Romig as a “person of exceptional integrity and the epitome of a servant leader.”
Kyle Campbell, New Orleans Saints Director of Game Day Entertainment; Tony Melito, defense spotter; Mark Romig, stadium announcer for the New Orleans Saints; and Norman Bennett Jr., SMG sound man watching the result of a play during New Orleans Saints game against the Carolina Panthers, Dec. 30, 2018, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
In addition to his duties in the Superdome, Romig said he will continue to serve on the boards of WYES-TV, the Fore!Kids Foundation and other organizations.
Kelly Schulz, New Orleans & Company senior VP of communications, said Romig is an exceptional friend and boss who supported her during the process of adopting a child in 2020, while the travel industry also was reckoning with how to deal with the pandemic.
“I took my daughter in when she was 13, and I was a first-time mom,” Schulz said. Schulz went to Tennessee to pick up her daughter, who had never been to New Orleans before.
“We got home and there was a bouquet of flowers on the front porch from Mark,” she said.
Romig in the interview said the timing was right for him to step away from day-to-day duties because of his confidence in Schulz and other talented tourism leaders.
“I want to provide opportunities for other people in the office to step up,” he said. “Jeremy Cooker, who’s going to be taking over the department from me as vice president, is more than capable. They say when you are trying to lead a team, find people who are smarter and more brilliant than you, and I did that with Jeremy.”
Mark Romig, president of the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation, speaks a during the ribbon-cutting ceremony April 3, 2019 (Photo by David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune)
One of the projects Romig plans to continue to promote is “Sail 250 New Orleans,” a gathering of tall ships scheduled for May 28-June 1, 2026, leading up to the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. New Orleans is one of the five U.S. port cities participating.
To work on this and other initiatives, he’ll keep a small office in the New Orleans & Company headquarters on St. Charles Avenue.
But Romig’s top priority is spending more quality time with his family — except on Saints Sundays, when his familiar baritone will echo throughout the Superdome.
“I would love to be able to match my dad’s record of 44 years and 446 consecutive games,” said Romig, who took over the job in 2013. “But that’s up to God.”
Email Rich Collins at rich.collins@theadvocate.com
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