VenuesNow saluted its 2019 Women of Influence honorees at a reception July 23 in Chicago during IAVM VenueConnect. From left: Rena Wasserman, Nederlander Concerts; Mel Raines, Pacers Sports & Entertainment, Kate McMahon,...
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Beth Paul, general manager, Bon Secours Wellness Arena Community Asset Beth Paul’s efforts to connect with Greenville, S.C., have helped her arena thrive Giving back to the community and creating a more inclusive environment for those with special needs are only a couple of Beth Paul’s accomplishments as general manager of Bon Secours Wellness Arena for the past five years. Initiatives such as those aren’t just feel-good stories — they can also affect the bottom line. Paul helped double the operating profit of the Greenville, S.C., arena in 2017 and continued growing it after that. “The venue financially has improved tremendously. I would suggest that we’ve had a pretty solid plan in place for the last three years,” said Paul, who graduated from Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C., with a degree in accounting. “We’ve been really engaged in the community as more than just a place to come enjoy live… Continue Reading Women of Influence: Beth Paul
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Read MoreLeader and Hero Messina Touring Group’s Kate McMahon guides her company’s inclusive, unstoppable team Kate McMahon, executive vice president at Messina Touring Group, sometimes plays down her achievements. “I try not to travel too much anymore,” the industry lifer said. “I kind of see myself as the constant in the office, the person who is going to be here. There’s a little bit of HR, a little bit of approval of timesheets and expense reports and all that kind of boring stuff.” But McMahon, who has helped lead Messina Touring Group since its inception in 2001, and has worked with founder Louis Messina since the mid-’90s, is as eminent a figure in the music biz as any, overseeing the marketing and promotion of major MTG clients — starting with country heavyweights such as George Strait and Kenny Chesney, and then widening to include pop powerhouses like Ed Sheeran and Taylor… Continue Reading Women of Influence: Kate McMahon
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Rena Wasserman, senior vice president of production and operations, business development, Nederlander Concerts (Courtesy Nederlander Concerts) Backstage Powerhouse Rena Wasserman learned the game from Bill Graham, then put her stamp on venues like the Wiltern and the Greek Rena Wasserman is old school and just as feisty as expected for someone who worked for the legendary Bill Graham, reopened and managed Los Angeles’ famed Wiltern Theatre, ran L.A.’s iconic Greek Theatre for 10 years, and then went on to become Nederlander Concerts’ senior vice president of production and operations and business development. “I started making a living in the theater at 15 years old,” Wasserman said. “In high school I loved the theater. Not acting, but anything backstage. Stage managing, lighting and sound were my interests.” Wasserman’s ticket to show business arrived when rock ’n’ roll promoter Graham came to her Berkeley, Calif., high school looking for interns. The group… Continue Reading Women of Influence: Rena Wasserman
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Maureen Andersen, president and CEO, INTIX A Magical Career Maureen Andersen is known as an innovator, a mentor and a voice of reason in the ticketing industry One of the moments that helped shape Maureen Andersen’s career happened during her first trip to New York City, when she was 23, “naive, young and excited to be on the Great White Way.” At that time, the president and CEO of the International Ticketing Association was one year into a 23-year stint with the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, where she was director of ticketing services from 1982 to 2005. “We tried to get tickets to “Cats,” which was the biggest hit on Broadway at the time, but it was sold out,” she said. “Then, with all the naiveté of the young, we went over to the Palace Theatre where “La Cage aux Folles” had just started in previews.” After brazenly… Continue Reading Women of Influence: Maureen Andersen
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Pam Matthews, executive director, IEBA Locked and Loaded When it came time to remake the Ryman,...
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Mel Raines, senior vice president of facilities operations for Pacers Sports & Entertainment, and her senior team at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. Steady Hand on the Wheel From political conventions to Pacers Sports & Entertainment, Mel Raines is a pro’s pro Michele “Mel” Raines knows how to go the extra mile, even when that means closing the road. As the senior vice president of facilities operations for Pacers Sports & Entertainment, Raines was instrumental in the bid that her organization made in 2017 to bring the 2021 NBA All-Star Game to Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. “Instead of just FedExing it to New York City to the league office, (Pacers Sports & Entertainment Chief Operating Officer) Rick Fuson came up with the idea to get in an Indy car and drive it down Fifth Avenue and deliver it to Commissioner Adam Silver with Larry Bird (at the time the… Continue Reading Women of Influence: Mel Raines
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