Ellen Schwartz (pictured, above right) has been promoted to general manager of the Los Angeles Convention Center and Brad Gessner (pictured, above left), who has been general manager since AEG Facilities was awarded the management contract in October 2013, has been promoted to senior vice president of the LACC, responsible for contract administration, strategic planning and participating on the expansion and modernization team for the LACC.
In her new role, Schwartz will be responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the 867,000 square foot facility including sales & marketing, public relations, operations, guest services and security, event services, human resources, food and beverage and parking operations while also overseeing the convention center’s operating budget, and revenue maximization.
Having joined the staff of the LACC in Oct. 2013, Schwartz has held a variety of executive and management positions including vice president of sales and marketing before being named assistant general manager in July 2017.
“Ellen has played a key role in the Los Angeles Convention Center setting records for event bookings, occupancy and overall revenue generation in each of the last four years,” says Bob Newman, president, AEG Facilities, operators of the downtown Los Angeles facility. “Ellen’s knowledge of the industry, leadership and extensive experience makes her the ideal executive to become the next general manager of the Los Angeles Convention Center.”
As senior vice president of convention centers, AEG Facilities, Gessner oversees several of the convention center properties managed by AEG Facilities including the Hawaii Convention Center, Puerto Rico Convention Center as well as the LACC.
“With the successful overall performance achieved at each of the properties overseen by Brad and the ongoing expansion of our North America Convention Center portfolio, his diverse depth of experience will continue to be a valuable asset in the AEG network,” says Newman.
The Los Angeles Convention Center is renowned internationally as a prime site for conventions, trade shows, and exhibitions. Owned by the City of Los Angeles and professionally managed by AEG Facilities, the LACC attracts over 2.5 million visitors annually. The facility is an integral economic component to the Southern California area, generating economic benefits through attendee direct and indirect spending and sustaining over 12,500 local jobs. The LACC also remains an enduring symbol of environmental sustainability and social responsibility, and is proud to be a LEED Gold certified facility; the venue was recertified on the Gold level in 2015 making the LACC the first convention center of its size in the U.S. to receive LEED EB:O+M Gold recertification. For more info, visit lacclink.com.
AEG, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Anschutz Company, is the leading sports and live entertainment company in the world. AEG Facilities, a stand-alone division of AEG, and its affiliates owns, operates or consults with more than 120 of the industry’s preeminent venues worldwide, across five continents, providing complete venue management, as well as specialized programs in operations, guest services, ticketing, booking, sales and marketing. AEG Facilities also provides resources and access to other AEG-affiliated entities, including AEG Live, one of the largest live music companies in the world, AEG Global Partnerships and AEG Real Estate, as well as such industry leading programs as AEG 1Earth and AEG Encore to support the success of its venues across the globe. The Los Angeles-based organization owns, operates or provides services to the world’s most elite venues, including STAPLES Center and Microsoft Theater (Los Angeles, CA), StubHub Center (Carson, CA), Sprint Center (Kansas City, MO.), Valley View Casino Center (San Diego, CA), KFC Yum! Center (Louisville, KY), AmericanAirlines Arena (Miami, Fla.), Prudential Center (Newark, N.J.), Barclays Arena (Brooklyn, N.Y.), Target Center (Minneapolis, MN), Oracle Arena and O.co Coliseum (Oakland, CA), CONSOL Energy Center (Pittsburgh, PA), Mercedes-Benz Arena (Shanghai, China), MasterCard Center (Beijing, China), The O2 Arena (London, England), Mercedes-Benz Arena (Berlin, Germany), Barclaycard Arena (Hamburg, Germany), AccorHotels Arena (Paris, France), SSE Hydro (Glasgow, UK), Qudos Bank Arena (Sydney, Australia), Perth Arena (Perth, Australia), Ericsson Globe Arena (Stockholm, Sweden), Los Angeles Convention Center (Los Angeles, Calif.), Hawaii Convention Center (Honolulu, HI), Puerto Rico Convention Center (PRCC), Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (Brisbane, Australia), International Convention Centre (Sydney, Australia) and the Oman Convention and Exhibition Center (Muscat, Oman). For more info, visit aegworldwide.com.
