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Former CRVA chief executive Tim Newman has taken a job at a Charlotte technology firm.
Newman started in January as director of business development for Euclid Innovations, which provides business consulting and infrastructure services to global corporations, according to the company’s website.
“It is a great company, and I am excited to be part of the team,” Newman said.
Newman had been head of the Charlotte Regional Visitors Authority for roughly eight years before resigning in 2012 after a year of scrutiny over his management practices.
As chief salesman and promoter of Charlotte, he was in charge of landing conventions and managing city-owned venues, such as the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
He had come under intense criticism from Mayor Anthony Foxx and some City Council members who were upset about inflated attendance projections for the hall. He had said 800,000 people would come in the first year, but only 272,000 showed up. A consultant later found that the attendance numbers were made with little rationale or due diligence.
Newman also was criticized for his management style, including using his personal spending account on expensive dinners for himself and local business leaders, as well as lavish gifts such as New York Yankees baseball tickets.
After he left the tourism authority, he continued to collect his regular salary, including a car allowance, because of a severance agreement. Newman’s salary was roughly $240,000. He last received payments in September.
Despite friction with Charlotte elected officials, Newman has numerous supporters in the hospitality industry who say he did a good job promoting the city nationally and internationally for travel and tourism.
In May 2012, he was charged with DWI and hit-and-run after an accident at Interstate 77 and LaSalle Street. But a District Court judge later dismissed the drunken-driving charge, ruling that Newman been kept in jail too long after his arrest.
As of November, the hit-and-run charge was still pending.
