LAS VEGAS – Jay Altizer was promoted to President of GES less than two years after joining the company amid a productive career in the corporate-strategy arena.
Altizer had been President of GES’s North American operations, which includes prestigious roles of general services contractor for major U.S. trade shows such as MAGIC, the International Manufacturing Technology Show, and CONEXPO-CON/AGG as well as a full schedule of corporate events. Altizer’s promotion gives him oversight over GES’s worldwide operations.
“Bringing North America, the UK, Europe and the Middle East under Jay’s leadership will provide a consistent experience for our global clients,” said Steve Moster, President and CEO of GES’s parent company, Viad. “Jay’s focus on putting clients first and his approach to helping them to create unique, impactful experiences that drive results makes him ideal to lead GES globally.”
Altizer will be assisted by a newly appointed Executive Vice President of Finance, Ian Dunhill, who stepped into the newly created position after working as CFO for Gold’s Gym and also in the pharmaceutical industry. “He has extensive knowledge in international finance and business expertise in numerous industry sectors including public and private companies,” Altizer said.
Altizer’s experience with major companies, including Pepsi and Dean Foods, appears to play into GES’s strategy to carve out a greater presence in the corporate events arena. GES reported in late October that Third Quarter revenues declined (7.6)% this year compared to Q3 2018, due in part to show rotation, which GES pegged at a $29 million hit. But GES noted that corporate events had nonetheless softened the blow, and Moster was bullish on the potential of such business. “The team’s efforts to increase GES’s share of the corporate event market and relentless focus on business development helped to substantially offset the impact of show rotation during the Third Quarter,” Moster said. “GES continues to make great progress driving growth within the corporate market, and successfully delivered events for some notable new clients during the quarter.”
GES is a long-running leader among general services contractors in the United States. The company was the general services contractor for 23 of the shows on the most-recent Trade Show Executive (TSE) Gold 100 and in addition serviced 20 shows on the TSE Fastest 50. The company earlier this fall struck a deal with Ascential to produce Money 20/20 U.S.A. and was also named the official general services provider for the Edmonton EXPO Centre in Canada.
“We are listening to our clients and striving to be their partner of choice,” Altizer said. “We are firmly committed to helping our clients build their brands.”
Reach Steve Moster at (602) 207-1000 or smoster@ges.com; Jay Altizer at (702) 515-5500 or jaltizer@ges.com.
