Mr Kennedy was elected to the new board and represented the major corporate sector at DQ's annual meeting on Wednesday.
Mr Kennedy is now Ngai Tahu Tourism regional general manager.
He said the activity sector needed "good representation" during the Government's planned review of the adventure tourism industry this year.
He said he could add "value" to the board because of his extensive experience in the tourism sector, leading Destination Queenstown for 10 years and Tourism Wellington before that.
He also had a good professional relationship with Queenstown ratepayers because of his "approachable style".
Outgoing chief executive Stephen Pahl told the meeting DQ's emphasis would still be on the Australian market, but he wanted to leave the organisation with a "warning" that it should not put all its "eggs in the Australian basket".
Retiring Skyline Enterprises managing director Ken Matthews will take over as interim DQ chief executive when Mr Pahl steps down today. The motion carried by Destination Queenstown members at Wednesday's annual general meeting was brought by the board, not the Chamber of Commerce as reported in yesterday's Otago Daily Times.
The motion was brought to the members after the Chamber of Commerce approached the board with concerns the tourism organisation's rules were inefficient and outdated, and not the organisation itself, as reported in yesterday's story.
