Leonard Hoops

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT LEONARD HOOPS

Leonard Hoops is President & CEO of Visit Indy and Tourism Tomorrow Indy. He leads a team of 59 industry professionals who are charged with growing Central Indiana’s $6.4 billion convention, tourism, and event business.Under Hoops’ leadership, Visit Indy has set all-time records for convention and tourism sales, delivering $1+ billion annually in incremental economic impact. During his tenure, Indianapolis has been named the #1 convention city in America by USA Today, and a top visitor destination by The New York Times, Conde Nast Traveler, Travel+Leisure, and Time. Visit Indy is also an 11x “Best Place to Work” in Indiana.Prior to joining Visit Indy, Hoops was EVP & chief customer officer of San Francisco Travel for 5 years, where his teams produced all-time convention sales records and managed international tourism development offices in 13 countries.In Hoops’ 40 years of destination and corporate marketing experience, he has also served as SVP & CMO of the Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau, SVP of Marketing for the San Jose Convention & Visitors Bureau, and managed corporate communications for a $1 billion division of FMC Corp.(then a Fortune 120 company).Hoops has been inducted into the Junior Achievement of Central Indiana Business Hall of Fame, received the Destination Organization Leadership Award from Destinations International, and been recognized as an Indiana Living Legend by the Indiana Historical Society. He has been named one of the 250 most influential business leaders in Indiana by the Indianapolis Business Journal, one of the 25 Most Influential People in the Meetings Industry by Successful Meetings, and one of the Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Hospitality & Travel Sales & Marketing by HSMAI. He has also received Delta Upsilon Fraternity’s Sloan-Kettering Award for Business and the Vonnegut Humor Award from the Kurt Vonnegut Museum & Library.Hoops earned a BA in Journalism from San Jose State University and an MBA from Santa Clara University.He is a former chairman of PCMA and serves on the boards of the U.S. Travel Association, the Marion County Capital Improvement Board, the Indy Chamber, Downtown Indy, and the Indiana Sports Corp. Hoops is also a Governor’s appointee to the Indiana Protection and Advocacy Services Commission. He has previously served on the boards of Destinations International, Conner Prairie Museum, the Immigrant Welcome Center, the 2012 Super Bowl, the 2022 CFP National Championship Game, the 2024 NBA All-Star Game, the 2025 WNBA All-Star Game, and multiple NCAA Men\'s and Women\'s Final Fours.