Live Nation’s Neste Live! promotes trio

Neste Live!, a Live Nation subsidiary based in Tennessee, has announced promotions for three key executives: Andrew Fortin, Jill Kopecky and Annette St. Onge.

Fortin has been upped to vice president of fairs & festivals and will oversee Neste Live!’s portfolio of ticketed events while targeting growth in the fair and festival space for both domestic and international markets, according to a release.

He will continue to be responsible for booking the California Mid-State Fair, the Los Angeles County Fair, Country Fan Fest, Night in the Country, Country Stampede, Stars of Texas Music Festival, Oregon Jamboree, and the Deadwood Mountain Grand Casino, among other accounts.

Kopecky has been promoted to vice president of corporate & private events to spearhead business development in the company’s corporate and private event market.

She has built a reputation among her clients as a premier corporate talent buyer, having booked and produced events including NASCAR’s Speedway GLOBE and the Utah State Fair. She has also built a strong client portfolio with recent expansion abroad to Spain and the Middle East.

“I look forward to the continued success and innovation they will undoubtedly bring as they lead their respective divisions”

St. Onge, meanwhile, has been elevated to director of operations and will oversee the company’s full scope of business operations while guiding strategic planning. Her experience in the live music business includes managing large-scale events such as the inaugural Music City Jazz Festival, corporate talent buying, and owning a boutique artist management company in the private event sector.

“These promotions reflect Andrew and Jill’s outstanding contributions to our team and their ability to navigate the dynamic world of live events, while never overlooking the integrity we built this company upon,” says Gil Cunningham, president and owner of Neste Live!.

“I look forward to the continued success and innovation they will undoubtedly bring as they lead their respective divisions in strategic expansion plans in the festival and private event spaces.

“Promoting Annette, who has such a depth of experience in the industry and impressive knowledge of business operations, has already increased our efficiency while streamlining our processes, setting us up for success as we scale the business. We are fortunate to have her.”

Neste was established in 1995 as a corporate sponsorship and event marketing agency for the festival market, later expanding into talent buying and event production. The company was acquired by Live Nation in 2019.

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Live Nation acquires Neste Event Marketing

Live Nation has acquired a majority stake in Tennessee-based event marketing company Neste.

The two companies plan to pool their resources to create Neste Live!, a new talent buying and event production venture for festivals, fairs and corporate clients.

“By creating Neste! Live, we’ll help even more events and clients tap into the magic of live entertainment,” says Bob Roux, president of Live Nation’s US Concerts division. “Gil [Cunningham, president] and the team at Neste are amazing at what they do and make the perfect partners for this new endeavour.”

“We are looking forward to seeing the way Neste Live! unfolds and changes the talent buying process”

Cunningham adds: “We are excited to join Bob and the entire Live Nation team as we embark on this new journey together. We are looking forward to seeing the way Neste Live! unfolds and changes the talent buying process for clients of all kinds.”

Neste Event Marketing was established in 1995 as a corporate sponsorship and event marketing agency for the festival market, later expanding into talent buying and event production. The company has since provided its services to more than 500 events.

Neste is Live Nation’s fourth acquisition of 2019, and its first in the US, following Singapore’s One Production in January and Canada’s Embrace Presents and Spain’s Planet Events earlier this month.

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