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After serving for two years as Mayor Coleman’s Urban Ventures Coordinator, “Downtown” Mike Brown is relinquishing that title and heading to Experience Columbus to serve as their new Director of Development & Public Affairs, beginning on April 26th.
“I’ll be doing a lot of strategic planning for the region and working as a liaison between Experience Columbus and folks with the City of Columbus and Franklin County,” explained Brown.
The move is significant for Brown, having worked in the Mayor’s Office for the past decade first as Communications Director and later as Urban Ventures Coordinator.
“Experience Columbus is proud to have Mike join our organization, said Paul Astleford, president and CEO of Experience Columbus. “We feel that with his background and proven experience, both in government and public affairs, he will be a valuable asset to our team and look forward to having him on board to lead our developmental initiatives.”
Brown’s new role at Experience Columbus will have him advocating for tourism funding support and maximizing the group’s potential as an economic development engine for the region.
No word has come yet as to whether or not Brown’s Urban Ventures position with the City of Columbus will be filled or dissolved.
“Mike Brown’s been one of Columbus’ biggest advocates for a decade in City Hall, and he understands how to get things done by bringing people together around big goals,” said Mayor Coleman. “This is a great time for Experience Columbus, the City and all our partners to keep building on our momentum and take the entire region to the next level for our Bicentennial and beyond.”
It’s the end of an era. Best of luck, M. (Now get us a brand that sticks.)
Wow, this is amazing!
Congratulations to him!
Congrats… now please please please push to make the EC logo look less like a sign for a carnival ride!
Sounds like a fun gig. Good luck.
I want his old job…
Might have to stop calling him “Downtown Mike Brown” and start calling him “Arena District Mike Brown”. ;)
Seriously though, some big congrats are in order. Looking forward to seeing what comes next from MB!
Congratulations to Mike and good luck!
- and Walker, nice touch with the creative Experience Mike Brown logo ;)
congrats mike! what an awesome partnership! good luck:)
Anyone else thing “Experience Mike Brown” sounds a little questionable?
@Tigertree, I believe you meant “think,” not “thing.” Freudian slip? ;)
Great guy for the position, that’s for sure — EC will be fortunate to have him. Kudos!
i must say i’m sorry to see Mike leave the city. he has been a true friend of the neighborhood. on the other hand i’m looking forward to see what he’ll cook up at EC! i reckon we’ll be working together on Franklinton tourism issues… :)
Great news for EC, the residents of Columbus & Mike.
Love MB. Think this is great for him, and us!
Mike…. your replacement better not suck or I’m going to start protesting. In the meantime… get to work on telling people how awesome this damn city is.
@Tigertree…. I think he changed jobs to have the switch to “The Mike Brown Experience”, not the other way around.
I’m wondering if there will be a replacement, or if the Urban Ventures position will be going away? It sounds like it’s currently up in the air.
Thank you to everyone for the thoughts. My brain is pleasantly spinning right now with all the posts and emails and ideas. It is humbling and (seriously) inspiring to see all this raw energy you bring to the game. More to come.
Excellent. It will be Experience(ed) Columbus with Mike in there. I think we will hear more about people having come to Columbus to experience the city than ways to get people to come here. I think we will also find more of our citizens doing more in Columbus and feeling proud of our city.
Oh, I’ve already got a little something cooked up for Franklinton, et al. Congrats Mike, I look forward to you bringing justice to C-bus’ image.