Visit Huntington Beach President and CEO Kelly Miller Retires

Visit Huntington Beach President and Chief Executive Officer Kelly Miller has announced plans to retire effective October 15 after 12 years with the bureau and nearly 35 years in the visitor industry overall.

Miller played a role in Huntington Beach being considered as a venue for the 2028 Olympic Summer Games in Los Angeles. The destination hosted events including the annual World Surf League’s US Open of Surfing, five International Surfing Association’s World Championships, the Pacific Airshow and the Surf City Marathon.

He is currently the chair of the Orange County Sports Commission. In 2014 and 2015, Miller led VHB in a community-wide collaboration to celebrate 100 years of surfing history at the Huntington Beach Pier.

“This decision is both exciting and bittersweet,” said Miller. “It has been the honor of a lifetime to lead this incredible organization and to serve a community I deeply love. Together, we’ve faced unprecedented challenges, including the Covid-19 pandemic and still we celebrated remarkable milestones.”

During Miller’s tenure, the destination worked with hotel partners to post record performance metrics including annual group hotel bookings increasing to more than 85,000 yearly. Visit Huntington Beach will immediately begin the search for his replacement.

“As VHB’s board chair for the past eight years, I can confidently say that Kelly’s visionary leadership has left a lasting impact on this organization and on Huntington Beach as a global destination,” said Justin Simpson, VHB’s board chair and general manager of Kimpton Shorebreak Huntington Beach Resort. “His ability to balance forward-thinking strategy with a strong focus on results is a rare gift — one that has shaped VHB’s success over the past 12 years.”

Miller chaired CalTravel during the pandemic, as well as chairing the Orange County Visitors Association and serving on multiple Visit California committees. Prior to joining VHB, Miller held destination leadership roles in Juneau, Alaska; Atlanta; Asheville, North Carolina, and Tampa, Florida.