CHICAGO — The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA) appointed Chris Konecki as the new General Manager of McCormick Place, effective August 24.
The journey is full circle for Konecki, who began his career at MPEA and ultimately spent 16 years with the organization. During his first stint at MPEA, he served as an Event Manager, providing him with a unique perspective of understanding the convention center’s operations. For the last 22 years, he has been a customer of McCormick Place, earning him intimate knowledge of show management needs.
“I’ve always believed that McCormick Place is the No. 1 convention center in the country, and I still believe that,” Konecki said. “The fact that management was being brought back in-house, and this opportunity to go back to MPEA where I started was exciting to me. I really thank the MPEA board and Larita (Clark, MPEA’s CEO) and her senior staff for having enough confidence to hire me back and let me be part of the ‘new’ McCormick Place.
“I’ve been producing one show for the last 22 years, so I am very excited about seeing all of the events that happen here. As soon as I take my seat at McCormick Place, there will be exciting things happening and this is a great time to come in and get involved again.”
Customer Turned GM
After MPEA, Konecki worked at the Chicago Automobile Trade Association for more than 20 years, overseeing the production of the Chicago Auto Show as, most recently, the Executive Vice President and Director of Auto Show Operations.
His time at the Chicago Automobile Trade Association earned him intimate knowledge about the needs of event organizers, exhibitors and attendees. As the new General Manager of McCormick Place, he will combine both skillsets to best serve the needs of the industry.
“I understand some of the challenges shows have in producing at McCormick Place, and in producing shows in general,” Konecki said. “I know how hard it is to find good people, to mine for exhibitors and get contractors’ cooperation so things run smoothly. The experiences I have been part of for the past 22 years have given me perspectives on all facets of the business, and I believe I can dovetail those experiences into how the McCormick Place ecosystem works. It’s not just McCormick Place; it’s the trade unions that operate there; it’s contractors and subcontractors and all of these people that touch the environment. It has to be seamless, and I can patch in between these different stakeholders and make transitional things work smoother.”
That customer perspective is what made Konecki such an ideal candidate for the role.
“Chris brings the best combination of a skillset. That includes operation expertise, industry leadership and customer perspective that stood out to not just me, but all of those who were part of this search process,” said Clark. “He’s been a customer and he knows the operation side of the business, and we believe he is going to balance all of MPEA’s stakeholders.”
Aside from Konecki’s experience on both sides of the business, his appointment reflects a greater strategy playing out at North America’s largest convention center to address one of event organizers’ biggest pain points.
“It’s important for McCormick Place and Chicago to inform organizers that we have quality skilled labor on our campus, whether they work for MPEA or general service contractors,” Clark said. “Chris has a relationship and a deep knowledge of working with that skilled labor and with the unions on our campus. I know that’s been a pain point for some of our organizers: the cost of labor. I believe Chris understands how to balance that and how to help those organizers ensure they get that quality labor at the best cost.”
The Two-Year Plan
The first year in the General Manager role will see Konecki spending time with stakeholders — customers, the MPEA board, the Choose Chicago team, skilled and union labor workers and contractors — to listen to their concerns and insights on McCormick Place.
Year two will see the senior management team come together to determine the strategic priorities from those conversations to chart the course for the next evolution of McCormick Place.
“I think sometimes customers don’t really think the facilities understand their issues, and the biggest thing I can bring to the table when it comes to customers is when they’re talking to me, I understand what they’re talking about,” Konecki said. “As the General Manager of McCormick Place, I can try to get the things done that they want to see done, because I’ve been a customer like they are. I’m going to listen to them, and I’m driven to get things fixed and done to make sure they’re happy and satisfied. I want shows to leave McCormick Place and say, ‘We produce our show in Chicago at McCormick Place, and it’s the best convention center in the country and that’s the only place we want to be.'”
Intentional Search Process
MPEA embarked on an intentional search process for the General Manager role, bringing on SearchWide Global to aid the effort of finding highly qualified candidates from across the country.
“It started with almost 100 candidates … and Chris outshined them all because of his skillset. He has the operations expertise, industry experience and customer perspective, and he also understands the general service contractors and the skilled and union labor that work on our campus,” Clark said. “No one else had that entire combination of skills, and the only thing Chris really has to learn is where we are now. That helps reduce that learning curve for us, and we can get right to addressing whatever needs we have as an organization.”
Konecki’s appointment also marks the end of Pat Allen’s tenure as Interim General Manager, and he will continue to serve at MPEA as Chief Operating Officer.
“Pat has served in so many roles over the years, and we really appreciate him stepping in as Interim General Manager and being a part of the search process,” Clark said. “I’d like to thank him for serving in that capacity and for using that as an opportunity to get a deeper understanding of the General Manager’s role.”
McCormick Place Fast Facts
- McCormick Place is the largest convention center in North America
- 2,600,000 square feet of prime exhibit space
- 600,000 square feet of meeting space
- 173 breakout rooms
- Four interconnected buildings ranging from 150,000 square feet up to 1.3 million square feet
- McCormick Place campus includes the 10,000-seat Wintrust Arena
Data on McCormick Place can be found in TSE’s World’s Top Convention Centers directory, which will be available online and in print on Sept. 1, 2026.
