MANAGEMENT
Chris Bird has joined V Digital Services as senior vice president. Bird spent the last three years as president of Vertical Measures. Prior to that, he was senior vice president of LaneTerralever.
SMG has hired Fredia Brady as GM, Wilmington (N.C.) Convention Center. Previously Brady was regional senior director of sales & marketing for SMG’s Southeastern region. Brady is a graduate of Brewton-Parker College, Mount Vernon, Ga.
SMG-managed INTRUST Bank Arena, Wichita, Kan., has hired Tristan Carter as marketing manager. Prior to SMG, Carter served as the marketing & sales coordinator for Exploration Place, Wichita, and served as the marketing coordinator for Gulfshore Playhouse, Naples, Fla.
Jose M. “Jochi” Davila Carlos has been named VP, partnership sales and entertainment at District Live!, a new 6,000-seat concert and entertainment venue being developed in San Juan, Puerto Rico, under a partnership between Island Hospitality Partners (led by PRISA Group) and Puerto Rico Convention Center District Authority. The venue will be managed and operated by AEG Facilities when it opens in early 2019.
Sharon Cummins has announced her retirement as executive director of VenuWorks-managed U.S. Cellular Center, Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids Ice Arena and McGrath Amphitheater, all in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Previously Cummins spent seven years as national director of planning and development for VenuWorks. Assistant director Mike Silva will succeed Cummins at the helm of all venues effective July 1.
Western Specialty Contractors has promoted Travis DeJohn to branch manager of its Little Rock, Ark., branch office. DeJohn was previously the assistant branch manager in Little Rock; sales and project manager at Western's Indianapolis, Ind., branch and he was an intern at Western's St. Louis, Mo., branch.
Mountain Productions, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., has appointed Simon Franklyn as director of West Coast operations. Franklyn previously was tour production rigger for many iconic bands including Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac and The Who.
IMN Solutions has promoted Mariana Gallo to executive vice president. Gallo joined IMN in 2010 as director of marketing and events. Prior to joining IMN, Gallo held key leadership positions in both the hotel and meeting management sectors of the industry.
Roger Harris has joined RealD Inc. as managing director of Europe, Middle East, Africa and Russia. Harris previously served as COO for Odeon Cinemas and UCI Cinemas Group overseeing the UK and Ireland. He was appointed managing director of UCI Cinemas Ltd. in 2002.
Blake Henry has joined the City of Owensboro and Spectra by Comcast Spectacor as general manager of both the Owensboro (Ky.) Convention Center and Owensboro Sportscenter. Henry most recently served as director of operations at Baton Rouge (La.) Convention Center. Prior to that he was with Staples Center, Los Angeles; executive director for the YC Performing Arts Center, Prescott, Ariz.; general manager of the Nokia Theatre and the Best Buy Theater, both in Times Square in New York City.
Susan Hollingshead will be Vendini’s first chief people officer. Formerly Hollingshead was with Sungevity, Inc.; she is a cofounder of Landbank, Inc.; cofounder and managing principal of Renova Partners and founder of Working for Good.
Kate Hudson has joined Visit Spokane, Wash., as PR manager. Prior to this, Hudson was a broadcast journalist and graduated from Gonzaga University, Spokane, Wash.
KAI Design & Build has hired Karen Huntington as project coordinator/administrative assistant. She had been benefits manager, HBE Corporation, St. Louis, Mo.
Faction, a talent management services company, announced the addition of veteran music manager Randy Jackson to its roster of managing partners, along with emerging managers Ethan Geltzer (N.Y.) and Jeff DeLia (Los Angeles). Jackson, a former American Idol judge, brings with him a roster of pop and Latin artists and producers. Geltzer recently left the digital marketing group at Island Records. DeLia represents a roster of Americana and blues artists.
SMG-managed Albany (N.Y.) Capital Center has named Joseph Leavens operations manager. Leavens most recently was operations manager at another SMG-managed property, Hampton Roads (Va.) Convention Center, where he started as manager of housekeeping and setup for the convention center.
David Marcus has been tapped by Ticketmaster to be its executive vice president/head of music, and to oversee a newly-formed division in North America. This will be Marcus’ second go with Ticketmaster; he first joined the ticketing company in 2005. Prior to rejoining Ticketmaster, Marcus was an executive with ScoreBig.
IMN Solutions has hired Lauren Moore as senior account director. Moore was previously senior sales manager at Hyatt Regency, Lexington, Ky.
Terry Moore is the new communications director, OC Fair, Costa Mesa, Calif. Moore spent 14 years as a deputy editor and vice president at The Orange County Register and its parent company, Freedom Communications.
Katharine Morgan is now serving as president of ASTM International. Morgan is a 33-year veteran of ASTM International, where she served as executive vice president for the past two years. Prior to that, she was vice president of technical committee operations. She succeeds James A. Thomas, who served in the role for 25 years.
Greater Birmingham (Ala.) Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB) has tapped Steve Pierson as its new director of convention sales. Since 2007, Pierson has held the position of national sales manager in the department. Pierson formerly served as vice president of sales for convention bureaus in Knoxville, Tenn.; Rochester, N.Y., and Houston. Carman Atchison has joined the staff of the CVB as sales manager for the Northeast territory and the arts and culture markets. She previously was sales manager for Westin and Sheraton Hotels in Birmingham, Ala. April Deal has rejoined the CVB staff as customer relations manager. Deal formerly worked as vice president of convention sales for the CVB before joining the YWCA Central Alabama as planned giving coordinator. Rita Kelley has been promoted from administrative assistant in the convention sales department to information technology manager.
Toni Wallace has joined UTA’s Beverly Hills, Calif., office as head of music brand partnerships. Previously Wallace ran the West Coast brand partnerships division at Columbia Records. Prior to Columbia, Wallace was employed at Microsoft.
Ware Malcomb has promoted Niki Ward to studio manager, interior architecture and design for the firm’s Phoenix office. Ward joined Ware Malcomb in April 2015 as a senior project.
Keith White is the new chief technology officer for Comcast Spectacor’s Spectra Ticketing & Fan Engagement. Prior to this, White had been senior vice president of engineering at Ticketmaster. Before joining Ticketmaster in 2011, he was director of engineering at Tickets.com.
Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau expanded its sales department with the recent hire of Tamara Whiting as national sales manager. A veteran of the industry since 2000, Whiting comes to Cincinnati USA from VisitPittsburgh, where she held the role of national sales director.
PASSINGS
Stuart Hurwitz — 83, former general manager, Springfield (Mass.) Civic Center, Feb. 12, at his home. Hurwitz established the American Restaurant Management Corp., which operates several UNO Pizzeria & Grill and Sonic Drive-In locations in the greater Springfield area. After passing the business on to his children, he became the general manager of Springfield Civic Center, during which time he oversaw its transition to the MassMutual Center. He served in various leadership and membership roles with JGS Lifecare, Greater Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau, Springfield Chamber of Commerce, Springfield Business Development Corp., Springfield Performing Arts Development Corp., and the Economic Development Council of Western Massachussets. Hurwitz is survived by his wife of over 60 years, Joan (Solomon), his children, Steve (Lori), Michael (Roberta), and Mark (Anita) and his sister Ida Ward. He also leaves behind seven grandchildren.
Howard Kaufman — 79, music industry legend, Jan. 25. Kaufman was one of the most influential managers in the music business and was a frequent collaborator of Irving Azoff’s. Kaufman’s roster of clients included some of the biggest names in rock n' roll including Aerosmith, Jimmy Buffett, Chicago, Def Leppard and Lenny Kravitz. Kaufman also co-managed Fleetwood Mac. Kaufman and Azoff ran Front Line Management from 1974 to the early '80s when it disbanded. The company was resurrected by the pair in early 2005. Ticketmaster bought the company in 2008 with Kaufman being a trusted advisor.