Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSGE) President Jay Marciano has resigned from his position with MSGE and is set to return to Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) to become the CEO of the company’s European division.
Billboard first reported the move this week, and in his new role, Marciano will run the AEG’s European operations – including the management of London’s O2 Arena, which, for the past two years, has usurped the mantle of the world’s top-grossing arena from MSGE’s Madison Square Garden. Marciano will be replacing former AEG Europe CEO David Campbell who left AEG this past February for a post with Formula One racing.
Prior to taking the post at MSGE, Marciano worked as chief strategy officer at AEG Live, where he helped AEG become the nation’s second leading promoter.
The hiring of Marciano appears to signal that AEG is taking strong steps to keep pace with rival Live Nation, which has recently stepped up its presence in Europe with several key purchases of ticketing companies, including Spain’s ServiCaixa and France’s Ticketnet.
AEG has expanded its own reach into the realm of ticketing through their recent partnership with Outbox Technology, so Marciano’s years of experience in overseeing large market entertainment venues, along with his work in expanding the MSGE reach beyond New York, could prove an asset to AEG Europe as it looks to keep up with Live Nation.
Marciano began as president of MSGE in March of 2005, where he was in charge of overseeing the bookings and productions at MSGE’s entertainment venues, including Radio City Music Hall and MSG. Also, while with MSGE, Marciano was responsible for the company’s acquisition of the Chicago Theater, which expanded MSGE’s reach outside of New York and into one of the nation’s top entertainment capitals.
On the production side, Marciano expanded Radio City Music Hall’s annual Christmas Spectacular into a national touring company, in addition to continuing the show’s annual performances in New York City. Marciano was also responsible for signing famed performance troupe Cirque du Soleil to a multiyear performance deal at The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
