NCVC Adds Six To Board Of Directors

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Pictured (L-R, top row): Becky Gardenhire, Mark Fioravanti and Ian Ayre; (L-R, bottom row): Tony Phillips, Linda Chambers and Shannon Sanders

The Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp (NCVC) has added six new members to its Board of Directors, with Ken Levitan, Founder and Co-President of Vector Management, serving another term as Chairman.

New members include Ian Ayre, CEO of Nashville Soccer Club; Linda Chambers, CEO and Co-Founder of the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum; Mark Fioravanti, President and CEO of Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc.; Becky Gardenhire, Co-Head of the Nashville office of WME; Tony Phillips, General Manager at the Bobby Hotel and Shannon Sanders, Executive Director of Creative at BMI Nashville.

“We are grateful to these leaders who bring their deep expertise in the hospitality, entertainment and sports industries, along with their invaluable insights of our city,” Levitan says. “Their guidance will be crucial as we navigate this period of expansion in Nashville’s tourism industry, particularly with ongoing hotel construction and our bids for major events and conventions. Their leadership will help ensure that the industry remains a vital economic engine for the region.”

The NCVC Board includes 24 members who represent sectors from within and associated with Nashville’s hospitality industry, which represents over 72,900 jobs in Davidson County. In 2023, the industry generated record economic activity for the city with $10.56 billion in direct visitor spending and unprecedented hotel performance with the most room nights ever sold in a single year at over 10 million.

Nashville is currently ranked the third-best meetings destinations in North America and has been named a top destination to visit worldwide for 13 straight years. Events like CMA Fest, “Let Freedom Sing!” and stadium concerts continue to drive demand in the city. Inspiring travel for the upcoming year, Jack Daniel’s New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash will again be a free concert at Bicentennial Capitol Mall State Park and its accompanying five-hour special will air on CBS.

The NCVC Executive Committee for fiscal year 2025 is composed of Levitan as Chairman, Marcus Whitney as Chair-Elect, Kevin Lavender as Immediate Past Chairman, Claire Tucker as Finance and Audit Chair and Max Goldberg as Sales and Marketing Chair, as well as Deana Ivey, President and CEO, NCVC.

The FY 2025 NCVC Board of Directors also includes the following:
Dr. Robert Fisher, Past President, Belmont University
Sherry Franklin, Director of Hotel Sales, Renaissance Nashville
Eddie George, Head Football Coach, Tennessee State University
Dr. Alex Jahangir, Vice President of Business Development, Vanderbilt Medical Center
Doug Kreulen, President and CEO, Metro Nashville Airport Authority
Pat Martin, Founder and Chairman, Martin Investment Group
Burke Nihill, President and CEO, Tennessee Titans
Howie Nuchow, Co-Head, CAA Sports
Molly Shehan, Attorney, Milom Horsnell Crow Kelley Beckett Shehan
Marc Sternagel, General Manager, Grand Hyatt
Sarah Trahern, Executive Director, CMA
Ben Weprin, AJ Capital

In addition, the NCVC has added five new members to the Board of Directors of its foundation, Music City Inc. Members include Shawn McSpadden, Managing Partner of Range Media Partners; Ben Olin, General Manager of The Westin Nashville; Ellen Jones Pryor, Director of Communications at the Frist Art Museum; Amy Seigenthaler Pierce, Managing Partner of FINN Partners and Courtney Ross, Senior Manager of Community Engagement at Amazon.

The Music City Inc. Board, created to produce free, music-centric events for the public, is chaired by Doug Kreulen. Other members include Mignon Francios, Founder of The Cupcake Collection; Laura Hollingsworth, Chief Marketing Officer at Opry Entertainment Group; Seamus Ross, Founder and CEO of Castlerock Asset Management and Hugh Anderson, General Manager at Loews Vanderbilt Hotel, along with NCVC’s Ivey, Andrea Arnold and Jeff Mefford.

John Nix Arledge
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