Features
Hornets Sports & Entertainment Promotes Donna Julian To Executive Vice President
– Donna Julian
Hornets Sports & Entertainment – operator of Charlotte, N.C.’s Spectrum Center – has promoted Donna Julian from senior vice president of arena operations to executive vice president, along with elevating a handful of other people in the organization. She remains the general manager of the venue, a position she has held since 2008.
An Oct. 21 announcement from the Hornets says that Julian is being recognized “for her outstanding leadership directing and overseeing the preparation, production and execution of all arena events from performances by prominent entertainers and high-profile political conventions to major league sports and athletic competitions.”
Julian, who has served as senior VP since Spectrum Center opened in 2005, oversees all aspects of the arena’s day-to-day operations, including booking, guest services, management, marketing and public safety.
The venue books 150 sporting events, concerts, and family entertainment shows annually and has been the host of a number of high-profile events including the 2012 Democratic National Convention and the 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend.
Under Julian’s leadership Spectrum Center has been recognized annually since 2013 by Facilities & Event Magazine as a Prime Site Award winner and received Mecklenburg County’s 2018 Wipe Out Waste (WOW) Ambassador Award for waste reduction and recycling measures.
Earlier this year North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper appointed Julian to the state’s Emergency Response Commission as a representative of public assembly venues and she was also honored as one of VenuesNow’s Inaugural All-Stars.
Julian currently serves as the Vice-Chair of Board of Directors for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Carolinas, as well as a Foundation Board Member for the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and a member of the Women Executives of Charlotte.
She previously worked as the General Manager of 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore for 15 years and served in a number of roles in sales, marketing and event administration for Centre Management, which operated the former Capital Centre in Landover, Md.
Hornets Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Charlotte Hornets, Greensboro Swarm and Hornets Venom GT, also promoted Ronnie Bryant to Chief Information Officer, Mike Cristaldi to Chief Communications Officer, Marlene Hendricks to Senior Vice President of Guest Experience and Joe Pierce to Chief Legal Officer.
Recent reports for Spectrum Center submitted to Pollstar’s BoxOffice include an Aug. 24 show by Alan Jackson that grossed $737,134 and sold 12,549 tickets. John Mayer played the arena Aug. 9, grossing more than $1.6 million and selling 14,570 tickets.