ASM Global announced the appointment of Nate Whitman as Chief Strategy Officer, a move it says will help it expand its deal-making capacity as the return of live events continues to accelerate in the wake of the COVID shutdown.
Whitman joins the company from the Pac-12, where he served as head of strategy and finance for the league’s media division. He has also previously worked as a Vice President at Live Nation Entertainment, leading the company’s internal strategy and financial analytics group.
The new position will task Whitman with evaluating business opportunities and strategic partnerships with a goal of driving revenue growth and consumer offerings. “Nate is a 20-year veteran in strategic and financial planning, and his ability to imaginatively maximize a multitude of growth opportunities and utilize his data-centric approach to identify those will make him a tremendous asset to our ASM team, partners and of course our venues throughout the world,” says ASM Global President and CEO Ron Bension.
The full press release announcing the hire is included below:
ASM Global Names Chief Strategy Officer to Drive Innovation and Manage Acquisition Strategy for World’s Leading Venue Investment and Operating Co.
LOS ANGELES – ASM Global, the world’s leading producer of entertainment experiences, venue management and event strategy, has named Nate Whitman chief strategy officer to expand upon the company’s recent pace of major acquisitions and strategic partnerships begun at the height of the pandemic and rapidly continuing now.
“I am honored and thrilled to be joining ASM Global’s world-class leadership team at what is an exciting and pivotal time for the company.”
In Whitman’s new role, he will evaluate all new business opportunities, investments and strategic partnerships for the global content and operating company. He will also identify strategic levers and opportunities to further monetize ASM’s business and partner with teams at all levels of the industry to surface innovation and value. Whitman will also translate strategic opportunities to actionable business initiatives that can deliver organic revenue growth and improve product and service offerings for customers across all business units.
In announcing Whitman’s appointment, ASM Global President and CEO Ron Bension said, “Nate is a 20-year veteran in strategic and financial planning, and his ability to imaginatively maximize a multitude of growth opportunities and utilize his data-centric approach to identify those will make him a tremendous asset to our ASM team, partners and of course our venues throughout the world.”
Whitman recently served as the head of strategy and finance for Pac-12’s media division, where he led all strategic planning, finance, budgeting and forecasting efforts. Whitman also spent six years as the executive director of strategy and innovation for the Billion Mile Race, a national campaign by the New Balance Foundation to challenge America’s schools to walk, jog or run a collective 1 billion miles. Whitman also served as vice president, strategy and finance, for Live Nation Ticketmaster Entertainment. While there he built the company’s first-ever internal strategy and financial analytics group. Whitman began his career in strategy with The Boston Consulting Group Inc.
“I am honored and thrilled to be joining ASM Global’s world-class leadership team at what is an exciting and pivotal time for the company,” said Whitman. “The demand from fans for unique live-event experiences has never been stronger. At the same time, new digital technologies can enable that experience to be even richer and more rewarding. ASM Global is uniquely positioned to deliver these experiences while pioneering the evolution of the digital customer journey. With ASM Global’s remarkable internal innovation—combined with strategic partnerships and acquisitions—we will drive new revenue streams and accelerate growth.”
ASM Global closed a remarkable 27 major arena deals during the pandemic, recently opened beautiful new venues in locales on multiple continents and has recently announced major partnerships with a wide range of preeminent companies in a variety of spaces ranging from Honeywell to Ticketmaster to Qualtrics to many others.
