Subscribers, advisors and staff of Venues Today will select three of these successful women from all aspects of the live sports and entertainment industry as our 2014 Venues Today Women of Influence. We will honor the winning women who have made a difference in the sports, music and convention industries in our July issue. As a subscriber, you may vote for FIVE women from the list below. Votes must be cast by Friday, May 9, 2014.
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2014 Venues Today Women of Influence nominees
Jan Addison
Deputy General Manager
Orange County Convention Center (OCCC), Orlando
Addison’s leadership in the past 22 years was instrumental in OCCC becoming known as a World Class Facility and the “Center of Hospitality.” She currently serves on IAVM’s Board of Directors, representing the Convention Center/Exhibit Hall sector, is an instructor at IAVM’s Venue Management School and is chairing a joint IAVM/IAEE Task Force for best practices in lease agreements. She was a primary contributor to IAVM’s White Paper on Exclusive Service.
Alison Birdwell
District Manager, Texas Region
Aramark Sports and Entertainment
Birdwell manages concessions, catering, premium, retail and facilities services at a diverse portfolio of nine accounts ranging from NRG Park (formerly Reliant Park) and the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, to the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands and AT&T Center in San Antonio. She oversees 6,000 employees and $135 million in managed volume annually. She accomplished year-over-year sales growth of 10 percent at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo in 2014 and has drastically improved sustainability and diversion rates at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo since 2013.
Lynn Carlotto
General Manager
Rogers K-Rock Centre/SMG Canada, Kingston, Ontario
Carlotto has 20 years of experience in venue management, holding key management positions in all three public sports and entertainment venues in Connecticut. She currently serves as GM for SMG Canada’s Rogers K-Rock Centre. She has also served as GM of New England’s largest theatre, Toyota Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, Conn., for Live Nation Entertainment. Before Live Nation, Carlotto was promoted from director of Marketing to General Manager of the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Conn., for Centerplate becoming the first and only woman to run a Connecticut arena.
Lisa Cochran
Executive Director
Taco Bell Arena at Boise (Idaho) State University
Cochran is a smart and savvy businessperson, with tenacity and natural strategic abilities. The business model she created for Taco Bell Arena five years ago has increased commercial event revenue more than 300 percent. In the past four years, the arena’s commercial market share increased nearly 60 percent. Last year, she secured the prestigious Davis Cup Men’s Tennis Championship Tournament.
Cheryl Cohen
Director of Marketing and Public Relations
SMG-Dunkin’ Donuts Center, Providence, R.I.
Cohen joined the management team of the Dunkin' Donuts Center in 2002 as the director of Marketing. Her career spans more than 30 years in the entertainment industry. Cohen is also a regional director of Marketing for SMG, where she oversees marketing directors in SMG Arenas from Canada to Florida.
Wesley Cullen
GM
SMG, Coliseo de Puerto Rico, San Juan
Cullen joined SMG and Coliseo de Puerto Rico in 2006 as director of Events and has been GM since 2009. She was recently recognized by Caribbean Business as one of the Puerto Rico's "40 under 40" and is very active in the community. She founded and heads the nonprofit organization Super Positivo, dedicated to keeping the beaches clean in Puerto Rico. During the fall of 2011, she became an Adjunct Professor at the Universidad del Este and enjoyed her first teaching experience with the course "Advanced Special Events Planning.”
Millie Dixon
Director
Theatre Projects Consultants
Dixon’s responsibilities include project management and overall coordination of a wide variety of consulting projects. She has also been responsible for the technical equipment specifications for many recent projects. Dixon is an experienced arts center operations manager and one of the few women theater consultants. She was instrumental in launching the highly successful boot camp that has preceded IAVM’s Performing Arts Managers Conference for many years.
Kristy Edmunds
Artistic and Executive Director
The Art of Performance at UCLA (CAP UCLA)
Edmunds is now in her third season as curator of UCLA’s venerated performing arts program. She has established powerful curatorial ties with Los Angeles visual arts entities, deepening the ties between the performing arts and visual arts, as well as maintaining a robust season of performances in one of L.A.’s most famed venues, Royce Hall. Under Edmunds’ leadership CAP UCLA partnered with The Getty Museum and the Hammer Museum to present rarely performed, site-specific works from famed postmodern choreographer Trisha Brown. Edmunds also is the founder of Portland’s acclaimed Time-Based Art Festival and has been curator of the prestigious Melbourne International Arts Festival for eight years.
Ninna Engberg
CEO
Stockholm Globe Arenas
During 2013, Engberg was key in opening the new Tele2 Arena in Stockholm, and managed to include this arena in the portfolio of arenas that Stockholm Globe Arenas manage in the Stockholm area. She also oversees Ericsson Globe, Hovet and Annexet and ride SkyView. Top Swedish teams count Stockholm Globe Arenas as their home, including Hammarby Football and Djurgården Football. Today, she manages the biggest entertainment district in Scandinavia with four arenas, 300 events and more than two million visitors per year.
Maureen Ford
President of Venue Sales
Live Nation
Comprised of more than 100 creative, sponsorship and advertising sales professionals, Ford’s team generated more than $70 million in revenue in 2013. Ford and her team develop new sponsorship-based revenue streams for Live Nation, which includes selling ad and sponsorship opportunities in Live Nation's 70+ venues—from amphitheaters to clubs, and the company’s 12 House of Blues locations. Ford’s team built 35 corner pavilion party decks across over 20 amphitheater venues, creating additional revenue and hospitality opportunities. Under Ford's leadership, festival sponsorship revenue tripled.
Jodi Goodman
President
Live Nation, Northern California
Goodman oversees concert promotions for a regional portfolio of prolific venues, highlighted by Mountain View’s Shoreline and Sacramento’s Sleep Train Amphitheatres. Working in collaboration with billionaire Oracle founder/CEO Larry Ellison, Live Nation built a 9,000-seat waterfront concert venue in front of the 2013 America’s Cup. With Goodman’s team promoting acts ranging from the Lumineers to Steely Dan, the America’s Cup Concert Series received city-wide acclaim. Goodman and her team also know how to send historic venues out in style; The Legends of Summer—Jay Z and Justin Timberlake provided a “last hurrah” to beloved Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
Vicki Hawarden
President & CEO
International Association of Venue Managers
Hawarden has built a great team at IAVM headquarters and the positive growth of IAVM is in large part due to her leadership. IAVM members asked for change and Hawarden has been the right change agent who has demonstrated her passion for what she does each day.
Cynthia C. Hoye
Executive Director
Indiana State Fair Commission, Indianapolis
During her tenure, Hoye has overseen a series of enhancements and capital projects at the fairgrounds, which hosts more than 300 events each year. She has been the driving force behind the $63-million renovation of Fairgrounds Coliseum, which is scheduled to open to the public later this month and would not have happened without her ability to get the majority of the project funded through state-issued bonds. Previously, she led an unprecedented series of special events for the 150th anniversary of the Indiana State Fair. She has served in different positions on the board of directors of the International Association of Fairs & Expositions, including chairperson in 2010.
Donna P. Julian
Senior Vice President, Arena & Event Operations and General Manager
Bobcats Sports & Entertainment | Time Warner Cable Arena, Charlotte, N.C.
Julian joined the Bobcats’ organization in 2005. She is responsible for leading all aspects of operations of Time Warner Cable Arena including implementation of all event operations policies and procedures. She currently manages and supervises guest services, event staffing, public safety, operations and event administration. Prior to joining BSE, she spent 15 years as GM of Baltimore Arena, later named 1st Mariner Arena, where she managed nearly 140 events annually.
Chris Kibler
Assistant General Manager / Director of Finance
Intrust Bank Arena – an SMG managed facility, Wichita, Kan.
As assistant GM and director of Finance, Kibler assists in the operation and management of Intrust Bank Arena, leads several committees that focus on improving the guest experience and is responsible for all of the financial and accounting aspects of the arena as well as event settlements with show promoters. While at the venue, she has received the Wichita Business Journal 2009 40 under 40 award and 2013 CFO award. Kibler is an active member of the Accounting and Financial Women’s Alliance (AFWA) and the International Association of Venue Managers (IAVM).
Barbara King
Founder
Marketing Inspirations
King founded Marketing Inspirations in her Atlanta home 15 years ago. Since then, Marketing Inspirations has grown to be a leading agency in the live entertainment space for over a decade working with some of the most recognizable brands in live entertainment such as Feld Entertainment, Madison Square Garden in New York, The Fox Theatre in Atlanta, Metlife Stadium/Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J., Blue Man Group, BB&T Atlanta Open, Meadowlands and Monmouth Park Racetracks, Cirque du Soleil and more.
Kathy Kramer
Vice President of Business Operations
Northlands - Rexall Place, Edmonton (Alberta) EXPO Centre, Northlands Park
Kramer oversees a diverse portfolio including Corporate Partnerships, Food & Beverage operations, Sales & Booking, and venue management for the 13th busiest major arena in the world, Rexall Place, and the second-largest convention centre in Canada, The Edmonton Expo Centre. Under her direction, the 2013 edition of K-Days saw its best season in over 15 years with over 780,000 guests and $17 million in gross revenue. She also served as co-chair of the local host committee for the 2011 IAVM VenueConnect Annual Conference & Trade Show.
Kim Leavitt Palmieri
VP of Food Concessions
Ray Cammack Shows
Leavitt Palmieri has successfully run, operated, coordinated and booked food concessions for RCS for the past eight years. She handles an annual budget of approximately $12 million. She is a mother of four, traveling on the road eight months out of the year. Leavitt Palmieri has balanced the mix of Corporate America, family and education. Her list of accomplishments include consulting and design of concession trailers for RCS, implementing new food products through The Midway Gourmet, and raising the standards of special event carnival midway concessions beyond any other midway operation.
Jamie Loeb
Vice President of Marketing
Nederlander Concerts
Loeb is responsible for the online development, marketing initiatives and promotional campaigns for Nederlander’s award-winning venues and its bookings at third party facilities throughout California. This past March, Loeb spearheaded The Greek Theatre in L.A.’s revamped subscription launch, garnering more than 26,800 ticket sales with a gross revenue of over $2 million during the two-week campaign, making it the venue’s most successful launch in nearly a decade. Prior to Nederlander, Jamie was the Senior Director of National Tour Marketing for Live Nation where she developed national tour marketing plans for Def Leppard, Avril Lavigne, Projekt Revolution and more.
Danielle McClelland
Executive Director
BCT Management, Inc./ Buskirk-Chumley Theater, Bloomington, Ind.
In the year 2001, the historic Buskirk-Chumley Theater stood dark and abandoned. A handful of board members searched to locate an executive director capable of rescuing this 600-seat performance venue and McClelland proved to be just this person. The Theater is now a fully functioning community resource, presenting an average of 175 live performance and film events and managing a $650,000 annual budget. McClelland founded the Bloomington Pride Film Festival, the community’s first LGBTQ annual festival, increasing the visibility of lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgendered and queer individuals throughout the region. The Buskirk-Chumley Theater’s Box Office now functions as a community ticketing service and downtown Visitors Center, providing needed marketing and development infrastructure for dozens of enterprising presenters.
Lori Otelsberg
President/Owner
Signature Entertainment & Promotions, Woodland Hills, Calif.
Otelsberg has worked in the entertainment industry for nearly 35 years, starting out in TV production on such shows as: American Bandstand, The American Music Awards, Golden Globes, and Academy of Country Music Awards. In 1989 she was hired by Dick Clark as an agent for the dick clark agency. Otelsberg worked at the agency till it closed in 1993 and then started her own company Signature Productions, to produce and buy talent for casinos, fairs, festivals, special events and corporate clients. She still has the honor of doing the bookings for “Dick Clark’s Good Ol Rock N Roll” shows as well as working with the dick clark company. She has an exclusive booking deal with the Chumash Casino Resort and Spa, Morongo Casino, Lone Butte and Vee Quiva Casino.
Elisa Padilla
Senior Vice President of Marketing
Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center
Padilla led the branding transformation of the Nets from New Jersey to Brooklyn, seamlessly implementing the rebranding strategy across all marketing platforms. She is the author of the award-winning branding campaign, Hello Brooklyn. Padilla also played a key role in creating the brand identity for the five programming franchises at Barclays Center. Padilla joined the Nets in 2010 as a director, was named Vice President in 2012, and was promoted to her current role in 2014.
Kerry Painter
Assistant General Manager at the SMG-managed Cox Business Center
Tulsa, Okla.
Painter joined SMG Tulsa as the assistant general manager of Cox Business Center in February 2014. She most recently served as the president of Scotiabank Convention and Civic Centre in Niagara Falls, Ontario, for six years. Over the course of her 30-year career she has become an expert in overseeing and facilitating construction and grand openings with five facilities under her belt. She has been an active member of numerous trade organizations and was a guest instructor in November 2013 at the Venue Management School in Brisbane, Australia, and is chair of the re-designed ‘Women in Leadership’ session at IAVM Convention in 2014.
Paola Palazzo
VP of Booking, Forum
Inglewood, Calif.
Palazzo’s experience includes serving as talent buyer at House of Blues Concerts. Prior to that, she was an agent at CAA. After HOB Concerts, she went to Nederlander Concerts where she held a very lucrative and successful show calendar for seven years. Palazzo is currently VP of Booking for the Forum, Madison Square Garden Entertainment's premier West Coast venue, and has already made a great impact on confirming a stellar concert calendar including the Eagles, Justin Timberlake, Imagine Dragons, Kings of Leon and, upcoming, Fleetwood Mac and Aerosmith.
Jill Pepper
Executive Director
TEAM Coalition
For the past decade, Pepper has been the driving force behind TEAM’s mission to promote responsible drinking and positive fan behaviors at sports and entertainment facilities across the country. Her leadership abilities allow her to positively influence a diverse group of stakeholders—professional and collegiate sports teams, entertainment facilities, stadium service providers, concessionaires, the beer industry and government experts—keeping them all focused on Team’s mission. She continues to push the envelope in providing training programs that support effective alcohol management as well as educating fans and consumers.
Carol Pollock
Executive Director
VenuWorks/Hoyt Sherman Place, Des Moines, Iowa
Pollock has increased the number of ticketed events at Hoyt Sherman Place from 13 to 60 per year while controlling expenses. Her work has led to the financial stability of HSP during recent economic challenges faced by organizations dependent upon endowment funding. Pollock developed “For the Love of Art,” which included an “Adopt a Painting” program to raise $65,000 in funds to restore 51 pieces of 18th Century Art housed at HSP. Just prior to joining VenuWorks, Pollack worked at the AT&T Center and Alamodome and with the New Orleans Saints when Hurricane Katrina displaced them from New Orleans. She moved three months of booked events to other facilities in and around San Antonio.
Susan Rosenbluth
Senior Vice-President of AEG Live/Goldenvoice
Rosenbluth started her career at The Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, in 1978. She spent her first three years learning about facility management, starting in the parking lot, at the world-renowned amphitheater and was named general manager of The Greek Theatre at the age of 24 in 1982. Over the next 13 years she managed concert presentations at the Greek Theatre, Pantages Theatre, Pacific Amphitheatre and Honda Center for the Nederlander Organization. In 2003, Rosenbluth moved to Goldenvoice as its General Manager. Though now she is a talent buyer, her roots are firmly planted in venues. She formed the Latin music promotion division of Goldenvoice in 2005.
Suzanne Kimball Richardson
Marketing Director
AEG Live Las Vegas
Kimball Richardson has more than 20 years of talent under her belt. She is a powerhouse in the industry whose marketing strategies and foresight has changed the face of Las Vegas entertainment. Kimball Richardson has played a primary role in promoting and marketing various projects. In 2009, she assisted with the opening of The Joint Las Vegas, an award-winning, $60-million venue. She also helped launch its successful concept of rock ‘n’ roll residencies. Without outstanding executives such as Kimball Richardson working behind-the-scenes at many of Las Vegas’ most high-profile events and shows, the city would not be the top entertainment and tourism destination it is today.
Barbara Schild
Event Management
Stade de Suisse Wankdorf National Stadium, Switzerland
Schild organized the 11th edition of The Match Against Poverty, March 4, at the Stade de Suisse. The charity match was a very successful event, but took hard work due to the short time left to organize it (nine weeks) as well as to coordinate media, all the agencies to get the players, sponsors and special guests.
Cheryl Swanson
Executive Director
Alerus Center Grand Forks, N.D.
Swanson has been an active member of IAVM for many years, serving on numerous committees She is a current member of IAVM Board of Regents, past chair of the Senior Executive Symposium, and instructor at the Venue Management School at Oglebay among other things. She led the City of Grand Forks through transitioning Alerus Center from private management to self-management. Through her efforts and industry experience, Swanson has overseen the fiscal turnaround of Alerus Center, recording operating surpluses the two years it has been city managed.
Tawny Tesconi
CEO
Sonoma County Fair, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Tesconi holds the distinction of being the youngest woman elected into the Western Fairs Association Hall of Fame. She has been manager of the Sonoma County Fair since 2008 and previously served as manager and CEO of the Sonoma-Marin Fair. She is a graduate of UC Davis, holding a bachelor of science degree in agricultural and managerial economics, and also graduated from the Western Fairs Association Management Training program.
Karen Totaro
General Manager
Atlantic City Convention Center
As the 2nd vice chair of IAVM, Totaro has set a great example for women in the venue industry. Leading the charge in planning the annual VenueConnect, she is the catalyst for the all-new Women in Leadership session. Her desire was to engage a speaker and committee who will promote the true power of women by discussing the difficulties in balancing work and family, being a smart strong woman with no fear of speaking the truth, blazing a trail and owning the results.
Dawn R. Ullrich
President and CEO
Houston First Corporation
Houston First Corporation is a local-government entity that owns the city’s largest hotel, the 1,200-room Hilton Americas, and manages more than 10 city-owned properties, including the George R. Brown Convention Center, Miller Outdoor Theatre, Wortham Center and Jones Hall. She directs daily policy and operation of these high-profile public venues and also spearheads the mission to advance economic prosperity in Houston through services and attractions. Her present charge is to increase Houston’s hotel inventory (eight hotels are under development downtown), upgrade the Brown Convention Center, support residential development and build the Nau Center for Texas Cultural Heritage.
Angela Wergechik
Vice President of Finance
Anaheim (Calif.) Arena Management, LLC
Currently in her 19th year at Honda Center, Wergechik is the VP of Finance for Anaheim Arena Management, LLC (AAM). In her current role, she is responsible for the overall financial planning and management of AAM, including the annual development of the budget, business and capital improvement plans and monthly reporting. In April 2002, Wergechik had an instrumental role in the successful transfer of ownership from the building’s then-management company, Covanta Energy Corporation, parent company to Ogden Facility Management, to its current management company, Anaheim Arena Management, LLC. Her financial expertise came into play once again when she oversaw the purchase of the Anaheim Ducks by AAM’s parent company in June 2005.
Sally Williams
General Manager of the Ryman Auditorium and VP, Business and Partnership Development for the Opry Entertainment Group, Nashville, Tenn.
Williams began managing the Ryman in 2008 and is only the eighth person to hold the role in the venue's 120-year history. Under her tenure the Ryman has garnered multiple awards including the SRO Venue of the Year Presented by CMA, Pollstar Magazine’s Venue of the Year, the Academy of Country Music’s Venue of the Year and the International Entertainment Buyers Association’s Venue of the Year. Williams was chosen by IEBA as the 2012 Venue Executive of the Year and by the Academy of Country Music as the 2010 Promoter of the Year. Williams is the President of Leadership Music and the Chairperson for the Hospitality Committee of the Music City Music Council. She serves on the boards of directors for CMA, IEBA, the Nashville Downtown Partnership and the Opry Trust Fund.
Sandy Woods
CEO
Nevada County Fairgrounds, Grass Valley, Calif.
Not only is Woods the CEO of Nevada County Fairgrounds, she was elected as president of the Western Fairs Association’s Board of Directors in 2012 and has been on the board since 2005. She was also chair of the California Fairs Alliance and served as deputy manager of the 17th District Agricultural Association. Before her time with the fair, Woods was CFO at MasterCard and general manager of the Nevada City Winery.