Sphere Names Jennifer Koester New Business Operations President; Portfolio Includes Developing Conference Business

Fortune 100 veteran executive Jennifer Koester is the new President, Sphere Business Operations, Sphere Entertainment Co. announced Monday, and included in her portfolio is a charge to develop conference business, heretofore a sector unexplored by the technologically-advanced venue.

In the new position, Koester “will lead the strategy and execution of all business aspects of Sphere, a next-generation entertainment medium that is redefining the future of live entertainment,” the company said.

Koester is charged with working with the rest of the executive team to grow Sphere business, including filling the calendar and maximizing ticket sales with “proprietary shows and attractions” and driving strategic partnerships and focusing on “only in Sphere” events with artists, managers and promoters.

In addition, in something of new angle on Sphere’s uses, Koester will work on “developing a corporate conference business for product launches and other events.”

Koester will be based in New York and report to James Dolan, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Sphere Entertainment.

“I am pleased to welcome Jennifer to Sphere Entertainment,” Dolan said in a statement. “We have seen a strong worldwide reaction to Sphere from customers, brands and artists since our September opening, and we look forward to leveraging Jennifer’s extensive background driving growth at premier technology and entertainment brands as we continue to build our Sphere business.”

“The opportunity to join the Sphere team and be part of this next-generation entertainment medium is a tremendous opportunity,” Koester said. “Throughout my career, I have focused on pioneering and delivering growth strategies that bridge business needs and leverage new technologies, and I am excited to bring that experience to Sphere.”

Koester brings extensive leadership experience across a variety of functional areas including sales, marketing, technology, and digital business. For the past 25 years, she has provided legal counsel, led business development efforts, driven strategy and internal operations and external go to market for Fortune 100 companies with a unique ability to integrate legal, technical, business and operational matters.

Most recently, she served as Managing Director, Americas Strategic Alliances, Global Partnerships at Google Commercial Operations. In this role she was responsible for leading the overall relationship with Google’s most strategic partners to drive greater incremental value across Google’s products and services. Koester also previously served as Director, Telecommunications and Video Distributors, Global Partnerships at Google, where she was a key contributor to product strategy and roadmaps that delivered new revenue opportunities, including development and monetization of advertising product lines. Koester’s pre-Google experience includes serving as Senior Vice President of Advanced Advertising Product Development, Data Analytics and Ad Operations at Cablevision.