Abilene Chamber names Robert Lopez new head of Convention & Visitors bureau

The Abilene Chamber of Commerce on Monday announced Robert Lopez will be vice president of the Abilene Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Lopez will assume the role held by former director Nanci Liles on March 21.

Liles was director of the ACVB since 1985 and announced her retirement plans in September.

She retired at the end of the year.

“I could not be more pleased by the search committee’s recommendation of Robert,” said Doug Peters, the chamber's president and CEO. “Robert brings to our organization over 16 years of experience in the hospitality industry, and we know that he will bring a fresh perspective to our organization while honoring our long-standing history.”

Originally from McAllen, Lopez has a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Texas Pan American.

He started with the hospitality industry in college, later serving as director of sales for Visit McAllen in 2012.

Lopez most recently served as vice president of Visit McAllen, where he managed a team of six employees, led international marketing efforts, spearheaded a marketing program cooperatively with the city of McAllen and operated as chief administrator for the McAllen Chamber’s of Commerce's tourism division.

“There are great things happening in Abilene right now, and I’m excited to join the team to be a part of the city’s growth,” Lopez said. “I was incredibly impressed with the people I met during this process and the vision they shared for the community was exciting. I look forward to meeting and learning from the community as we explore new opportunities to drive Abilene’s tourism sector.” 

Brian Bethel covers city and county government and general news for the Abilene Reporter-News.  If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.