Pacific World announced changes to its senior management structure after a year of strong revenue growth for their major source markets in France and the UK. Mark Barber has been promoted to Regional Director Europe. Previously acting as Finance director, Barber’s new responsibilities include leading the company’s teams and businesses in Spain, Monaco, France and the UK as they go through a new phase of development. Harsha Krishnan will head up Sales and Marketing for Pacific World while still holding the position of Strategic Development director.
True Capital Management hired Justin Bass as managing director. Before this, Bass served as a managing director in the Sports and Entertainment Group at SunTrust Bank for three years after 15 years as a partner and managing director at CSI Capital Management. Bass is a graduate of University of California, Los Angeles and earned a J.D. from University of California, Hastings College of Law.
Becky Brashear will join Maryland State Fair as the new assistant general manager, leaving her position as general manager at Great Fredrick Fair. Brashear has been with the county fair for 19 years and was involved in expanding its 4-H Club outreach and youth educational efforts.
The Maryland State Fair & Agricultural Society Board of Directors has named Andy Cashman general manager of the Maryland State Fair. Cashman will be promoted from his assistant general manager position, in which he has served since 1997, to take over for Howard (Max) Mosner, who is retiring after 42 years as GM.
Comcast has hired Danielle Cohn in a newly-created position where she will be supporting entrepreneurs and startups throughout Philadelphia and the rest of the country. Cohn enters the role after 18 years with the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau as vice president of Marketing and Communications.
IRG Sports + Entertainment has named Bobbi Jo Cox as the general manager for the Cordova International Raceway (CIR), formerly known as Cordova Dragway Park. IRGSE recently acquired CIR and appointed Cox to take over for Scott and Laura Gardner who have transitioned to new roles. Cox brings 16 years of experience at the facility to the new role.
AEG Ogden has appointed two new business development managers for International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney). Tina Eggers has been named National Business Development manager and Michelle Nahas has been named Corporate, Government and Events Business Development manager. As a board member of the International Special Event Society in Australia, Eggers brings 15 years of experience in events business, most recently serving as senior business development manager for Dockside Group. Nahas joins ICC Sydney with an eclectic background in business development, sales and account retention after six years in corporate account management and flight analysis with QANTAS. The appointments were timed in anticipation of ICC Sydney’s December 2016 opening.
John Glenn has been brought on by Adelaide Festival Centre as an executive producer. Previously, Glenn worked for three years as an executive producer for Queensland Performing Arts Center where he was responsible for developing profit-making opportunities and managing the maximizing the commercial utilization of the four main performance venues.
Sarah Haertl is leaving her position as SMG regional director of Marketing for BOK Center and Cox Business Center in Tulsa, Okla., to join local advertising agency AcrobatAnt as director of Sales and Marketing. Acrobat Ant is an advertising agency, marketing firm and digital group that already has some industry ties. Coming up, the agency will work with another of Haertl's former employers, Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kan., to rebrand and remodel its concessions stands.
Jerome Hertel was hired as the new general manager of Alaska State Fair. Hertel will be relocating from South Dakota where he has built a strong resume in the fair industry, most recently working as the executive director of the South Dakota State Fair.
The Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation (HCSCC) has appointed Kevin H. Hoffman as the new executive director of NRG Park in Houston. Hoffman has been with HCSCC since 1999. He previously served as Project director and deputy executive director.
SMG Canada hired Peter Jelinski as general manager of the Medicine Hat (Alberta) Regional Event Centre Most recently, Jelinski worked as the booking and entertainment
manager for Edmonton Northlands and has over 20 years of experience in the entertainment industry.
Encore Performing Arts Center has appointed Bill Lee as president and CEO of Strand Theatre for the Performing Arts in Pontiac, Mich. Bringing almost 30 years of experience in venue management, producing and promoting in the live entertainment industry, Lee will oversee all of the venue's business operations. Lee previously worked for Olympia Entertainment, Inc. as senior vice president for Celebrity Events Group and vice president of sales and marketing. In the past, Lee has also held executive level positions with SMG and various positions with national arena and theater.
Matthew Leishman has resigned after a year as the AT&T Center Marketing manager to accept a marketing management position with AEG Live Southwest in Dallas. Before the AT&T Center, Leishman managed and executed all marketing and advertising for events and concerts booked by United Concerts at The Depot in Salt Lake City.
Erica Musyt has been hired as the new National Sales manager for Roanoke Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau. A Roanoke native herself, Musyt most recently worked for Kimpton Hotels in Washington D.C. as the senior Catering/Conference Service manager.
Chad Quierlo returned to AEG as vice president of the Pacific Northwest. Quierlo previously booked The Showbox in Seattle, returning to AEG after a brief exit in September following the news that VP Alex Kochan left in October. AEG Rocky Mountain promoter Chuck Morris has been running the office since October.
James Rasmussen has left his job as talent buyer/director of Marketing with ArenaNetwork to join the Sacramento Kings as their director of arena planning. Rasmussen joined ArenaNewtork in 2009, having previously worked as contracting coordinator for Arena Touring and Operations.
Bon Secours Wellness Arena has promoted Beth Paul from assistant general manager to serve as interim general manager after the Greenville Arena District board voted to sever their employment relationship with GM Roger Newton. Paul has worked at the arena for nine years, recently supervising the day-to-day management of the arena’s renovations.
Live Nation Entertainment hired Phil Seward as the senior vice president of Relationship and Loyalty Marketing where he will be responsible for developing and implementing new programs to attract new fans, drive loyalty to the Live Nation platform and enhance the company’s yield management capabilities. Recently, Seward led the introduction of Elevate, a frequent flyer program at Virgin America.
Orton Entertainment has appointed Dana Stoehr as general manager of Craneway after Lance Miller resigned to move back with his family and pursue other opportunities in the Northwest. Stoehr brings over 20 years of event experience to the role, coming from seven years as assistant general manager of the San Mateo County Event Center.
Chris Tsakalakis has stepped down as president of StubHub and left the company. After serving as president of the company since 2007, Tsakalakis’ resignation comes just months after StubHub laid off 100 employees and leaves the company searching for a replacement. Noah Goldberg, StubHubs’ North American lead, and CFO Ajay Gopal will act as interim co-leads during the process.
Nick Wells has been appointed as ticketscript’s Country Director UK. Wells will be in charge of the sales and account management teams to build and manage business’ portfolios in the UK. Wells brings plenty of commercial experience with15 years in companies such as Capital Radio, talkSPORT and Perform Group.
After a nationwide search, Arts Consulting Group, Inc. appointed Michelle Winters as director of marketing for the Louisville Orchestra. Coming from the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Winters brings more than 20 years of experience in the orchestra management field.
Deputy Fair Manager Katie Young will be taking over as fair manager of Sonoma County Fair with Tawny Tesconi stepping down in order to head the county’s General Services department. Young graduated from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a degree in agribusiness and spent five years as a marketing coordinator at the Sonoma County Farm Bureau before joining the fair.