AMERICAS – The Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority (PCCA) Board of Directors has approved the appointment of Carol Hunt as Vice-President of Finance and Shamyune Jones as Vice-President and General Counsel. Both Hunt and Jones had served in similar capacities prior to the Authority’s hiring of convention center management firm SMG to manage and operate the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.
John J. McNichol, the current Board Vice Chairman, it was also announced, will serve, unpaid, as the Acting President and CEO of the PCCA. Tara Waltenbaugh, who has served as Special Projects Manager at the Center, was appointed to serve as Acting Vice-President of Administration. She will oversee and administer special PCCA projects as well as the Center’s capital improvement projects.
McNichol will provide general administrative oversight of the authority’s staff, as well as interact and coordinate the Center’s activities with stakeholders including the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Hotel Association, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, labor unions, and SMG.
McNichol is a partner in the government relations firm Greenlee and Associates and previously served as a Senior Vice-President at Tierney Communications, a PR firm.
McNichol will provide stewardship of the Center as the search for a permanent President and CEO continues.
Under the contract with SMG, the Authority has undergone a substantial reorganisation with SMG hiring the majority of the Center’s existing staff to oversee the day-to-day management of the Center. Eighty former employees of the PCCA are now SMG employees.
The Authority will maintain a core group of employees to oversee certain aspects related to the management and operations of the Center, which is a state-owned building. These core responsibilities include oversight of SMG and capital improvements of the building, financial reporting, legal counsel to the authority, and interaction with various stakeholders in the region’s tourism and convention industry.
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