Explore St. Louis President Kitty Ratcliffe Honored as a 2024 St. Louis Titan 100

ST. LOUIS: Titan CEO and headline sponsor Wipfli LLP has announced Kathleen (Kitty) Ratcliffe as a 2024 St. Louis Titan 100. The Titan 100 program recognizes the Top 100 CEOs and C-level executives in St. Louis who demonstrate exceptional leadership, vision and passion. Collectively, the 2024 St. Louis Titan 100 and their companies employ upwards of 129,000 individuals and generate more than $31 billion in annual revenue. This year’s honorees will be recognized at an awards ceremony at Armory STL on April 18, 2024.

“The Titan 100 are visionary leaders that inspire the St. Louis business community,” Jaime Zawmon, president of Titan CEO, says. “These preeminent leaders have built a distinguished reputation that is unrivaled in their field. We are humbled to recognize the Titan 100 for their efforts to shape the future of the St. Louis business community.”

Kitty Ratcliffe, president of Explore St. Louis, has more than 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry. At Explore St. Louis, she is responsible for the sales and marketing of St. Louis as a destination for visitors as well as the operations of America’s Center Convention Complex and The Dome at America’s Center. She is the only woman in the country running the operations of all three entities and has been doing so for 12 years.

Ratcliffe came to Explore St. Louis, formerly known as the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission, in 2006, after serving as executive vice president for the New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau; president of the Jacksonville and The Beaches Convention and Visitors Bureau; and vice president of sales and marketing for the Baltimore Area Convention and Visitors Association. She was the youngest female chair of Meeting Professionals International and received their International Supplier of the Year Award. She has also been honored by Black Meetings and Tourism with its Apex Award for Distinguished Service and was inducted by Destinations International into its Hall of Fame.

Under Ratcliffe’s leadership, the St. Louis convention industry is approaching pre-pandemic performance levels with improvements in hotel metrics and event activity at America’s Center. Most importantly, these forces are facilitating the return of St. Louis’ hospitality workforce, totaling some 90,000 St. Louisans who provide exceptional experiences to guests day in and day out, making the industry a leading edge of economic development and attracting billions of new dollars to the St. Louis region every year.

“The St. Louis region is brimming with innovative business and community leaders, and I am humbled to be included in this esteemed group,” Ratcliffe says. “Thank you to the Titan 100 for amplifying and connecting leaders across our region.”

Headshot of Kathleen (Kitty) Ratcliffe