Mitchell Englander quits politics to join OVG

Mitchell Englander, president pro tempore of Los Angeles City Council, is to vacate his seat on the council to join Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff’s Oak View Group (OVG).

Englander, who currently represents Los Angeles’s 12th district, will join OVG – the venue management, investment and development vehicle founded by former Live Nation chairman Irving Azoff and ex-AEG CEO Tim Leiweke – on 1 January 2019 as executive vice-president of government affairs.

“Serving on the Los Angeles City Council has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my entire life, and has gone way beyond just a career,” says Englander. “If I ever had another dream to fulfil beyond what being a council member has given me, it would be to make a significant difference in so many more lives and communities.

“Tim Leiweke, Irving Azoff, [president of business development] Francesca Bodie and their entire team have presented me with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do just that: To join a force that has become a positive disruption to business as usual in the sports and live entertainment industry, [and], beyond that, an opportunity to work with the most respected and brilliant minds in their industry.

“We are thrilled to welcome Mitchell to OVG”

“They are not only passionate about their work – they care deeply about improving the lives of every community they work in.”

“Mitchell is extremely well-respected inside city hall and well-liked all around the city,” add Leiweke and Azoff in a joint statement. “He brings with him a wealth of Los Angeles governmental experience and a fresh perspective. We are thrilled to welcome him to OVG.”

OVG, founded in November 2015, comprises six divisions: membership organisation Arena Alliance; Narrative Partners, a sponsorship/partnership operation; Prevent Advisors, its security advisory arm; OVG Consulting, whose services include venue design and seating, branding and ticketing strategy; venture-capital fund OVG Ventures; and venue-management outfit OVG Facilities, launched last October following the acquisition of Pinnacle Venue Services.

It also owns industry trade titles Venues Today and Pollstar, the latter which it bought last summer.

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