The new CEO at Experience Fayetteville, the city’s tourism bureau, was placed on administrative leave after less than two months on the job after a unanimous vote by the city’s Advertising & Promotion Commission on Friday.
Commission chairman Elvis Moya, one of seven members, said the vote was 6-0 in favor of Hauck’s suspension, which is a paid leave. Hauck, 38, took over leadership at Experience Fayetteville on July 21 as the full-time replacement for Molly Rawn after Rawn was elected mayor.
Moya declined to comment on specifics for the reasons for Hauck’s leave other than to say it was not a criminal matter. He said My HR Pros, a third-party human resources company, will investigate the matter.
“Experience Fayetteville will continue to run with the current leadership team in place,” Moya said.
The current leadership includes CFO Jennifer Walker, who was the interim CEO between Rawn’s ascension to mayor in January and Hauck’s hiring.
Moya declined to say when or how he or the other commissioners first learned of alleged problems involving Hauck because of the “ongoing investigation.” He declined to say what the concerns were regarding for the same reason.
Moya said he couldn’t estimate how long the investigation would last or what the ultimate outcome would be if the investigation proved whatever allegations are involved.
“[A]ny decision is premised upon completion of the investigation by the third-party HR vendor,” Moya said. “I am unable to comment [if Hauck’s could be dismissed]; that is a decision that the commission as a whole must reach.”
Hauck came to Fayetteville after four years as executive director of the Park County Travel Council, which operates as Cody Yellowstone and is a tourism bureau in Wyoming abutting Yellowstone National Park.
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