ASM Europe EVP John Sharkey to step down

John Sharkey, executive vice-president of European operations for leading venue operator ASM Global, is leaving the company after seven years.

Sharkey – who joined ASM’s predecessor, SMG, in 2014 – gave his notice in February and will stay on until December.

He was appointed ASM Global’s EVP for Europe in late 2019, following the completion of the merger between SMG and AEG Facilities.

Prior to joining SMG Europe, Sharkey was group CEO of the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (now the Scottish Event Campus), where he led the team responsible for delivering the 13,000-capacity SSE Hydro arena. He previously held positions with First Group, Scottish Enterprise and Ernst & Young.

It is understood Sharkey does not yet have another role lined up following his exit from ASM.

“Over the last seven years, I have been lucky to work with some of the finest people in the business with such tremendous passion and energy for our industry,” says Sharkey. “I have also been incredibly proud to work for a business which stands for the best in gold standard venue management.

“It was a really tough decision to leave the business. However, the events of the last year have been profound”

“For these reasons, it was a really tough decision to leave the business. However, the events of the last year have been profound across the world and the pandemic has caused me to reflect and decide on a change of direction in my career.”

Ron Bension ASM Global’s president and CEO, comments: “John has been leading the European business for nearly seven years and during that time has been the driving force behind many of the business’s successes, from delivering venues in Aberdeen [P&J Live] and Hull [Bonus Arena] to integrating the acquisition of our in-house catering business CGC and overseeing the significant progress of the Kai Tak project in Hong Kong.

“John will leave the business in December, but before that time he will be instrumental in leading the teams as we get ready to re-open and bring guests back into our venues. I wish John the very best in the next chapter in his life and would like to thank him for the commitment and dedication to the business over the years.”

Bension adds: “We have recently commenced a search for a new European lead, who will be responsible for leading the European business and delivering a number of exciting venue projects including Wolverhampton, Derby and Cantu in Italy, with a number of others in the pipeline.”

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