Vice president resigns as Visit Florida prepares to reorganize

TALLAHASSEE — One of Visit Florida’s top executives has turned in his resignation letter, leaving another key position vacant as the agency prepares to undergo a reorganization in the coming months.

Alfredo Gonzalez, Visit Florida’s vice president of global meetings and trade, will officially quit his job July 7. His $179,313 salary makes him the highest-paid employee at an agency that faced heavy scrutiny this year from Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida House for bloated salaries, secretive spending and questionable contracts.

Gonzalez’s departure leaves a hole in Visit Florida’s campaign to promote the state's tourism industry in lucrative markets such as the United Kingdom, Germany and the Middle East.

He followed International Marketing Program Director Shari Bailey, whose resignation was effective Saturday, according to information provided by the agency.

More:It's sexy and secret: Pitbull drops video paid by Florida

During a Tuesday meeting of the Visit Florida board of directors, acting Chief Marketing Officer Nelson Mongiovi said the resignations would not affect the agency and that a reorganization would take place in the next 45 days. 

"We have an incredibly talented team, and we've really gone out of our way to cross-pollinate people," Mongiovi said. "We’re already plugging and playing those people where they need to be."

Visit Florida President Ken Lawson said he will focus on repositioning employees. 

"We are going to spend the next several weeks ensuring the right people are in the right jobs," Lawson said. "I’m going to make sure we hire the people who are going to help us."

Bailey made $128,932 a year and reported to Gonzalez. She recently was responsible for brokering deals such as a marketing campaign to promote Florida in the Middle East.

Gonzalez submitted his resignation letter June 16. In the letter Bailey submitted June 12, she said she appreciated the opportunities Visit Florida provided her.  

"l have grown in many ways during my time here and I appreciate the opportunities provided for me; the knowledge and experience I have gained at VISIT FLORIDA is tremendous," Bailey wrote in her letter, which was obtained through a public records request. "I am very grateful for the time I have spent on our team and the professional relationships I have built."

Gonzalez and Bailey could not be reached to comment. Their resignations come just weeks after the Legislature agreed to provide Visit Florida with the $76 million it requested.

Legislators agreed to the sum during a special session called by Scott after he vetoed part of the $83 billion state budget that cut the agency’s budget to $25 million.

The $51 million cut to Visit Florida’s budget forced the agency to consider cutting 60 of its 139 employees. Legislators approved that budget with the end of this year’s regular session May 8, and the three-day special session ended June 9.

Nine employees resigned up to the last day of the special session, when legislators had agreed to provide the full $76 million the agency requested. Six employees, including Gonzalez and Bailey, left after legislators signed the amended budget.

Gonzalez is paid more than Lawson, who accepted $175,000 a year when he was hired by Scott in January. Gonzalez also is eligible for performance bonuses, receiving $26,231 last year.

Bailey also was eligible for bonuses last year, receiving an extra $12,279 last year. She will not receive a bonus this year because she left before the June 30 end of the fiscal year, said Visit Florida spokesman Stephen Lawson. 

Lawson will not receive a bonus, one of many changes pushed by House Speaker Richard Corcoran amid reports of overspending and secretive deals.

A contract former Visit Florida President Will Seccombe signed with Miami rapper Pitbull included a trade secrets clause that left several key details a mystery to the public.

In December, Corcoran, R-Land O’ Lakes, sued to have those details revealed, prompting the entertainer to post the $1 million contract on social media.

More:Visit Florida to pay $73,000 to CEO after controversial Pitbull deal

The release of the unredacted contract prompted Scott to ask Seccombe to resign from his $292,386-a-year position. Scott also asked the agency to post some financial details and contract online.

But not all Visit Florida contracts were posted online.

Through a series of public records requests, the Naples Daily News reported on the $11 million that Visit Florida paid a Tallahassee TV producer for a cooking show starring celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse.

That same producer was paid $2.8 million to produce "Bass 2 Billfish," a Florida fishing show broadcast on cable TV.

More:Visit Florida deal paid TV fishing show producer $2.8 million in taxpayer money

The producer, Pat Roberts, also received a $175,000 fishing boat from the deal.

Corcoran’s changes were added to the amended budget, requiring more detail in Visit Florida vendor contracts, caps on salaries and a restriction on employee bonuses.

Those terms will become active when the state budget takes effect Saturday.