Rod Harris

Rod Harris was appointed President and CEO of Tourism British Columbia upon its establishment as a Crown corporation in 1997. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce and MBA, with a major in Marketing, along with Professional Certification from the Institute of Canadian Advertising.

Prior to his appointment at Tourism BC, he served as an executive with major Canadian marketing and advertising companies such as Maclaren Advertising and John Labatt Limited. He has also been a senior manager responsible for marketing leading brands of such multinational corporations as Colgate-Palmolive, Sara Lee, and Lever Brothers.

As CEO of Tourism BC, he leads the global marketing of Super, Natural British Columbia, during which time, he has served as a past member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Tourism Commission, the Vancouver 2010 Bid Corporation and the Pacific Asia Travel Association.

Under his direction, Tourism BC has won Gold Medals from the Canadian Marketing Association (2001), the Pacific Asia Travel Association (2000), and the Canadian Direct Marketing Association (1998). Tourism BC was named BC’s Marketer of the Year by the American Marketing Association (1999). In addition, the Corporation was recognized by Watson Wyatt Worldwide as British Columbia’s “12th Best Employer” in 2002, and in 2004 as the Province’s “2nd Best Employer”. In 2007, Canadian Business Magazine recognized Tourism British Columbia as one of Canada’s Top 50 Employers.