GWCCA Chief Administrative Officer on destination marketing, transparency and wooing talent

In a video interview recently published by the Association of Luxury Suite Directors (ALSD), the Georgia World Congress Center Authority’s Chief Administrative Officer Jennifer LeMaster discusses public/private partnerships, attracting top-tier talent, and Atlanta’s strengths as a destination.

Jared Frank, Publisher/Editorial Director of ALSD, caught up with LeMaster after she moderated a panel discussion at the ALSD Sports Venue Design & Build Forum in conjunction with the ALSD Conference and Trade Show at the Marriott Marquis Atlanta.

The ALSD, according to its website, aims “to be the ultimate voice and accredited resource for individuals and organizations involved in the premium seat industry.”

It’s an area LeMaster has an extensive background in, having served as Executive Services Manager at the Georgia Dome from 2007-2012, where she oversaw the stadium’s premium seat leasing program and was responsible for contractual obligations to suite and club seat members in coordination with the Atlanta Falcons.

And speaking of the Falcons, LeMaster discusses the process involved in securing Mercedes-Benz Stadium as the team’s successor home to the Dome, and the public-private partnership that made it possible.

“The guiding principal really was transparency,” she tells Frank. “We felt as a state entity working with a private entity that there would be a level of transparency required of us to represent to the public that they’re getting a great deal. And so from the very beginning, we built a microsite hosted on our website that really tracked everything related to the stadium negotiation – we posted all of our documents there. And in doing so, I think, set a benchmark with the press and the community at large that this deal is not going to be done in secret. You’re going to have full access to everything we’re working on.”

For her industry and organizational insights, check out the entire video here. 

Photo credit: Nichole Rodgers Photography.