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People on the move: Broadway Across America and more…

We round up the latest movements from the ticketing sector and associated industries…

Rich Jaffe (pictured left) has become sole chief executive of Broadway Across America (BAA) following a management reshuffle at the touring production company. Jaffe was previously co-CEO alongside Jeff Daniel, who recently announced his departure.

New York City-headquartered BAA operates in 48 markets with over 400,000 subscribers, with presentations including Disney’s The Lion King and Wicked. It is part of the John Gore Organization family of companies, which includes Broadway.com and The Broadway Channel.

Susie Krajsa, who has served as BAA’s president since 2018, will lead BAA’s regional teams and take on additional responsibilities in that role.

Rob Cheatham is promoted to senior vice-president of operations and labor, Jill Keyishian becomes SVP of programming, Joanna Minerley becomes SVP of sales and analytics, and Kurt Rodeghiero becomes SVP of strategy.

Oak View Group (OVG) has appointed Ade Patton (right) as chief financial officer.

Based in Denver, Colorado, Patton will direct and oversee the global financial and accounting activities of the firm and report to OVG chairman and chief executive Tim Leiweke.

Patton served most recently as CFO of HBO Max/Global DTC at WarnerBros Discovery and previously in investment management roles at Millennium Management and Citadel.

“I’m pleased that Ade will be joining OVG as our new Chief Financial Officer,” said Leiweke. “Ade is a seasoned financial executive who has helped lead world-class companies, and I look forward to having him on our team to help guide OVG’s continued strategic and sustainable growth at scale.”

Michelle Walker will join Arts Council England (ACE) in November as London area director. She succeeds Tonya Nelson who moved to become executive director, enterprise and innovation last month.

Walker will lead the delivery of ACE’s Let’s Create strategy in all London boroughs to ensure the impact of the arts across the capital.

Currently Walker is culture and events manager for the London Borough of Southwark, where she has led innovative projects both with institutions such as Tate and with local partners such as Theatre Peckham.

Coventry Building Society Arena has appointed Claire Harkness (centre) as operations director.

In her new role, Harkness will be leading on transforming the live events strategy for the future of the business. She will also lead on matchday operations for football fixtures at the venue, exhibitions and live entertainment, and health and safety for events.

Harkness worked on last year’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar and has held senior positions with Glasgow City Council, Rangers FC, Liverpool FC, Levy at Ibrox Stadium and Liverpool City Council.

“I’ve worked with the venue in the past and I already felt very much part of the team, so when this opportunity arose, I knew it was the right step for me,” she said.

“Coventry Building Society Arena is so dynamic with sport, exhibitions, conferences and live entertainment – with a particularly great concert portfolio. The venue is in a real development phase now and it is an exciting time to be a part of that journey.”

Do you have news of an appointment that we should know about? Get in touch by emailing news.editor@theticketingbusiness.com and we’ll include it in our next round-up.