Tim Leiweke, right, in 2012 when named Lifetime Achievement Award winner at Sport, Entertainment & Venues Tomorrow in Columbia, S.C., with that year's Pioneer Award Winner Michael Cohl, SBN2. (VT Photo)
Industry heavyweight and current disruptor Tim Leiweke, CEO, Oak View Group, has been confirmed as the keynote speaker for the third annual RISE (Raising the Industry in Sports & Entertainment) conference Thursday, Aug. 25, in Long Beach, Calif.
A highly interactive and intimate gathering, RISE is produced by Venues Today and features our own Women of Influence and Generation Nexters as primary panelists and facilitators throughout the day.
Leiweke has promised to set a high bar during his keynote, stressing three points:
• “One would be our vision for the positive disruption that we’re creating in the industry,” Leiweke said. Oak View Group is buying companies and creating services, including an arena alliance, at a very fast pace. Leiweke is partnered with another industry icon, Irving Azoff, in the endeavor.
• Two would be the future issues that face our industry including security and terrorism. “By the way we’ll be prepared to talk about our new security/terrorism company by then,” he promised. “We are creating what we think is the best-in-class security and terrorism consulting company 100 percent geared toward facilities. Everyone will know our partners and chairman in that new company. Our chairman is the best brand in the industry.”
• And three? “I’ll add it when I get there.”
Leiweke began his career in soccer in Kansas City, went on to run AEG for Phil Anschutz for 18 years, left to become president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment and, in 2015, founded Oak View Group, which has many tentacles, including the arena alliance of major players for whom Oak View Group is influencer and consultant.
He is also committed to the L.A. community through a range of charitable initiatives and has been recognized with the Anti-Defamation League’s 2007 Humanitarian Award, Father of the Year by the American Diabetes Association and the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Man of the Year. He is a current member of the Pandora board of directors.
Leiweke will kick off RISE with his 9 a.m. keynote, which will be followed by a variety of discussions on topics he will initially address, including a panel on security, led by Kim Stone of AmericanAirlines Arena, Miami. Florida has been ground zero in major terrorism attacks so far this year and Stone will lead a session centered around what venue managers can and do both inside the venue and in the city, where they bring event coordination and crowd control to citywide events that, oftentimes, are spur of the moment and internet-driven and an added burden to law enforcement at such a critical point in time. Security speaks to commitment to the community and its safety well beyond venue walls.
Per tradition, RISE will also feature discussion of gender and generational differences in the workplace. This year, we have planned a debate scenario, Millennials in Charge, in which some of our Generation Next recipients campaign to run the show and tell us how it should be done and Women of Influence will play the role of the media. Kim Bedier, Tacoma (Wash.) Public Assembly Facilities, will be our Megyn Kelly.
Speed Networking is an evergreen at RISE, giving everyone a chance to meet new peers and associates.
And an emphasis on the fan experience, themed Keeping Live Alive, will be led by Jane Kleinberger, Spectra Ticketing and Fan Engagement. Upon learning Leiweke would be the keynote, Kleinberger noted: “That will be a great launchpad for our session.”
It promises to be the best RISE ever. To register, click here.