
189: Dan Rowe • Leading Through Crisis
From DMOU: Destination Marketing Organization University by dmou
May 13, 2026 · 46 min · Episode 191
About this episode
Dan Rowe discusses his experiences leading Visit Panama City Beach through various crises and shares his leadership principles.
Over the past 18 years, Dan Rowe built Visit Panama City Beach into one of the most recognized DMOs in the Southeast, growing its influence well beyond its marketing mandate and establishing it as a genuine community builder. Forged by the challenges brought by hurricanes, oil spills, a spring break pivot that no one thought possible, Visit Panama City Beach was designed to withstand crisis…and this winter, it did again. In this exclusive conversation, Dan Rowe sits down with DMOU’s Bill Geist to share the story behind the alleged embezzlement by trusted staff members, Dan's decision to step away for the good of the destination and a recent position paper in which Dan reflects on his career and his 11 principles of Leadership. Join us.
People in this episode
Host: Bill Geist
Guest: Dan Rowe
Topics covered
- crisis management
- leadership principles
- community building
- destination marketing
- organizational challenges
Keywords
- Dan Rowe
- Visit Panama City Beach
- crisis
- leadership
- community
- marketing
- challenges
- embezzlement
- principles
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Visit Panama City Beach
Places: Southeast
More episodes of DMOU: Destination Marketing Organization University
- 191: Kristen Reynolds & Michael Jacobson: The 15 Year Journey to Create Chicago's TID · June 10, 2026 · 33 min
- 190: Chris Ihrig • Developing a Pathway to Destination Leadership · May 27, 2026 · 44 min
- 188: Gary Wheat • Honey, We Bought a Radio Station · April 29, 2026 · 29 min
- 187: Auvis Cole • Building Trust and Collaboration with Industry Partners · April 1, 2026 · 40 min
- 186: Amir Eylon • How Events are Driving American Tourism in 2026 · March 18, 2026 · 37 min
- 185: Ryan Short • Going Beyong Place Branding to Achieve a Civic Brand · March 4, 2026 · 33 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the DMOU: Destination Marketing Organization University podcast page.