Mercedes Miller, Executive Director
Georgia International Convention Center/Arena @ College Park Gateway Center
Miller has led the Georgia International Convention through tremendous growth in facilities, programs and services. First hired in 1995 as a marketing analyst, she was promoted to sales manager, director of sales, assistant director and executive director 2011. She has worked in hospitality for more than 30 years.
The Georgia International Convention Center is the 2nd largest convention center in the state of Georgia, and the Arena @ College Park Gateway Center scheduled to open fall of 2019. As a destination the GICC complex have all the amenities that meeting planners look for when selecting a site for their trade shows and conventions situated within a short walking distance from our facilities and hotels.
A native of Atlanta, Mercedes has spent the better part of her 30 year career in hospitality proving that even if you start at the bottom, through hard work, dedication and perseverance, you can come out on top. Miller exemplifies qualities of leadership, integrity, dedication, motivation, and teamwork, all while inspiring other women to achieve their own goals as well. Her expertise includes long-range planning, design and construction, financial management, marketing and venue operations.
Miller began her hospitality career in sales and marketing at the Stouffer Waverly Hotel. From there, she was promoted to Sales Manager, where she became part of the opening team for The Renaissance Concourse Hotel at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport. Her career path led her to the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau as the National Sales Manager for the Airport Area.
Miller attributes her success in large to her community involvement. She sits on several Boards, the ATL District, Advisory Board Motherless Daughters Foundation, and Board of Director for the Atlanta Airport Chamber, and the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau. She also sits on the Board of Ethics for Fulton County and is a graduate of the International Association of Venue Managers Graduate Institute. She is a member of the International Association of Venue Managers, the Professional Conference Management Association the American Society of Association Executives and the National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners. Miller is also a certified Mediator for the State of Georgia.
Miller has been honored as one of Atlanta’s most interesting personalities and a leader in her community with her repeated inclusion in Who’s Who in Black Atlanta, Top 100 Leaders in Hospitality by the Atlanta Business Chronicle (2012-2018), 100’s List of Georgia’s Most Powerful and Influential Women by Women Looking Ahead Magazine, Atlanta Tribune “Women To Watch” and Tower of Strength award from her al Malta Morris Brown College.