Richard Andersen has stepped down as president and CEO of Northlands in Edmonton, Alberta. Andersen has joined Lighthouse Consulting Group in Washington. He began with Northlands in August 2010, prior to which he served as GM of Petco Park in San Diego and executive VP of Major League Baseball’s San Diego Padres. The board of directors is searching for a replacement, with Northlands CFO and VP of Corporate Services Sharilee Fossum serving as acting president and CEO.
Charlotte (N.C.) Regional Visitors Authority has named Steve Bagwell VP of Venues and Charlotte Convention Center director. Bagwell has been with the Charlotte Convention Center for more than 19 years, first beginning as warehouse manager when the facility opened in 1995. Additional responsibilities in his new role will include convention center sales and venue operations at Bojangles’ Coliseum, Ovens Auditorium and Time Warner Cable Arena. Bagwell achieved his CPA designation in 2000.
Reed Travel Exhibitions has appointed Sallie Coventry as the new portfolio director of the IBTM Events Portfolio. Prior to joining Reed Travel Exhibitions, Coventry was managing director of W&O where she saw double-digit growth of her key accounts over three consecutive years.
Sharon Cummins has been named executive director of
the U.S. Cellular Center, Paramount Theatre, Cedar Rapids Ice Arena and McGrath Amphitheatre, all in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Cummins steps into the role after serving as interim executive director at the four VenuWorks-managed facilities since October. Most recently she served as national director of planning and development for VenuWorks. She also served as executive director of the Cedar Rapids facilities from 1997 to 2007, during which time she oversaw the successful naming rights agreement with U.S. Cellular, and led the $7.8-million renovation of Paramount Theatre.
John Dvorak has stepped into the fair manager position at Rice County Fair in Faribault, Minn. Dvorak has been with the fair for more than 17 years, including the last few months as interim fair manager. He replaces Jim Hermel, who served as fair manager for 15 years before resigning in July 2013.
Palace Sports & Entertainment has promoted Richard Haddad to VP & general counsel from director, business affairs, and has announced several new hires. Laura Ferich joins PS&E as corporate controller. She spent 13 years with Pentastar Aviation, most recently as VP of Finance and support services. Luke McMunigal is new senior financial analyst. He joins the company from General Motors Financial Services. Erica Neitzer returns to PS&E as manager, promotions. She spent the last year working for Detroit Medical Center – Huron Valley-Sinai Hospital as PR and Marketing account manager, but previously served as PS&E’s manager, Advertising & Promotions. Dave Logan and Steve Duffy join PS&E as premium partnership Sales managers. Logan previously spent five years with PS&E as outside Sales assistant director and corporate account executive. He returns to the company after three years with Dynamic Advisory Solutions. Duffy joins PS&E from the National Hockey League’s Florida Panthers where he served as suite Sales director.
Pointstreak Sports Technologies Inc., has announced that Peter Luukko has joined the company’s Board of Directors and has made a personal investment in Pointstreak. Luukko is the former chairman of Global Spectrum. Before joining Pointstreak, Luukko served as President/COO of Comcast-Spectacor. In this role he was responsible for the creation of new business opportunities for Comcast-Spectacor in the fields of facility management, sports ownership, and ticketing as well as food and concessions operations. He also oversaw all operations of the Philadelphia Flyers and served as a member of the Board of Governors of the NHL. Luukko actively serves on the Board of Directors for the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Philadelphia Sports Congress, and the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation. He also served on both the National Hockey League's and the National Basketball Association's Board of Governors.
John McNichol has been named president and CEO of Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority. Before the PCCA voted in approval, McNichol served as vice chairman of the Center’s Board of Directors, a position that will now be filled by Josh Shapiro. McNichol has also been serving in an unpaid capacity as acting president and CEO of the PCCA since December. His new position will become effective March 1. Previously, McNichol served for six years as a Sr. VP and director of Government Affairs for Tierney Communications in Philadelphia and Washington. He was a legislative aide to a former Member of Congress, and also established and ran the Congressional Fire Services Institute. SMG is in place to privately manage the facility.
Former Asst. GM Jeff Nickler will step into the general manager role at BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla. He will take the place of GM John Bolton, who has been promoted to VP, SMG Entertainment. Bolton is a 25-year veteran of the industry, including nine years with SMG, including acting as regional VP for SMG for its venues in Puerto Rico and on the West Coast. He also served as national director of Marketing for SMG, and is the current chair of IAVM's Board of Directors. Nickler joined the SMG Tulsa team in 2008 as premium services and Sales manager, playing an integral role in the facility's opening. He also served as special events manager, and director of booking and special events. Nickler was promoted to Asst. GM in 2011.
Veteran talent buyer Taki Pappas has joined Durham (N.C.) Performing Arts Center as director of Concert & Comedy Programming. DPAC presented more than 60 concert and comedy events in 2013. Most recently, Pappas served as the assistant director and talent buyer for Texas Performing Arts at the University of Texas at Austin. In his former position, he focused primarily on commercial and comedy events for the 2,900-capacity Bass Concert Hall. Pappas also spent 12 years with Live Nation Worldwide, serving as VP of National Touring for five years.
ABTS Convention Services has hired Anthony Prusak as associate VP of Business Development in charge of leading ABTS’ growth into the Professional Congress Organizer arena through its new PCS Solutions division. Prusak brings 23 years of industry experience to his new position, most recently serving as senior director of Convention Sales at Cleveland Convention Center. He has also worked in a variety of Sales & Marketing roles with Merchandise Mart Properties Incorporated.
Visit Huntington Beach, Calif., has appointed Elsie Jean Rodriguez as National Sales manager. She brings more than 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry to her new position. Most recently, she worked as senior sales manager at Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort and Spa in Dana Point, Calif.
Scott Schutt has been promoted to Marketing manager at MTS Seating. Most recently, Schutt served as Sales supervisor. He has been with the company for 15 years in positions concerning sales, customer satisfaction and manufacturing. He is a graduate of the University of Toledo, Ohio.
MCI has announced the appointment of Dominic Short as managing director of MCI Zurich. He has more than 20 years experience in strategic account management, sales and planning in the business travel and events industry. Most recently, Short managed a technology company in Switzerland’s corporate travel industry and has held positions with Swissair. MCI Zurich’s previous managing director, Thomas Wüthrich, is now spearheading the growth of MCI in Scandinavia as regional managing director. He had led MCI Zurich for six years.
Monumental Sports & Entertainment has promoted Jim Van Stone to chief revenue officer. Previously, Van Stone served as Sr. VP, Sales and Service for the Washington-based company. He also served as Sports Industry Management adjunct professor at Georgetown University in Washington from 2008 to 2010. He previously worked as Sr. VP, Sales and Service for National Hockey League’s Phoenix Coyotes, and vice president of sales for Comcast-Spectacor.