FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SMG ASSUMES MANAGEMENT OF BRANSON CONVENTION CENTER MARC MULHERIN ANNOUNCED AS GENERAL MANAGER
“We are pleased to welcome the Branson Convention Center to our family of SMG-managed properties and are confident the facility will thrive under Marc’s leadership, combined with SMG’s booking network, client base and other resources and generate a greater economic impact for the city of Branson,” said Gregg Caren, SMG executive vice president for convention and exhibition centers.
“Not only are we pleased to welcome SMG as the new facility management company, we are excited to attract a general manager with the energy and experience of Marc Mulherin’s caliber to direct operations here in Branson,” said City Administrator Bill Malinen, who serves as Branson’s chief executive officer.
SMG assumed managerial responsibility for the facility from Hilton Worldwide Corporation on April 1 and retained the majority of the existing venue staff.
Mulherin is a hospitality industry veteran with more than 15 years of experience in convention center, arena and hotel management, most recently as the assistant general manager, director of food & beverage operations and director of capital & special projects for SAVOR at the SMG-managed McCormick Place in Chicago -- the largest convention center in the United States -- where he has been based since 2011. SAVOR, as part of the SMG portfolio, has provided retail and catering food and beverage services throughout the United States, Europe and Mexico since 1983.
He also was the food and beverage director for the TD Garden with Delaware North Companies/Sportservice and director of catering convention service and concessions for Interstate Hotels and Resorts’ Lancaster Marriott Hotel & Convention Center in Pennsylvania. Mulherin held managerial positions in catering, convention services and concessions with five convention centers for whom ARAMARK Corporation provides services, and in the hotel sector with the Hyatt Regency Hotels at resorts in Newport and Chicago, and Starwood Hotels and Resorts’ Sheraton Boston Hotel and Sheraton Braintree Hotel.
A graduate of Bryant University with a bachelor’s degree in business management, Mulherin is a member of the International Association of Venue Managers and the Professional Convention Management Association.
The Branson Convention Center, located in the Branson Landing development in a lakeside setting, offers 113,725 square feet of event space, including a 47,172-square-foot exhibit hall attached to a 22,703-square-foot ballroom on the first floor, and a dozen meeting room ranging from 1,000 to 5,000 square feet on the second floor. The technologically progressive venue can accommodate 4,000 guests and is supported by onsite catering, audiovisual, high-speed Internet and event management teams, with a single point of contact for all event-related services.
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Founded in 1977, SMG provides management services to more than 230 public assembly facilities including convention and exhibition centers, arenas, stadiums, theatres, performing arts centers, equestrian facilities, science centers and a variety of other venues. With facilities across the globe, SMG manages more than 14.4 million square feet of exhibition space and over 1.75 million sports and entertainment seats. As the recognized global industry leader, SMG provides venue management, sales, marketing, event booking and programming, construction and design consulting, and pre-opening services for such landmark facilities as McCormick Place and Soldier Field in Chicago, Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, Houston’s Reliant Park and the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
Visit www.smgworld.com for more information.
