2026 Impact NextGen Honoree: Molly Kluba

MOLLY KLUBA
Senior Director, Programming | AGE: 33
Oak View Group / UBS Arena

HOOK OR BY CROOK
Fueled By Ramen, Teenage Blogging, Warped Tour & Randy Nichols.

Molly Kluba was navigating her way into the music industry while she was still in high school.

“After my first Warped Tour in 2007, I started doing everything I could to go to more concerts, from working for Fueled By Ramen’s street team/merch booth at the festival to starting my own music blog in high school where I interviewed and photographed artists and wrote concert/album reviews,” says Kluba, now Senior Director of Programming at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. “It’s unclear whether the publicists I was emailing knew the owner/editor of Music Never Sleeps was 16 years old!”

She parlayed that experience into an internship with Randy Nichols at Force Media Management in 2012, followed by her first paid gig at Live Nation, where she spent nine years before making the move to Oak View Group (Pollstar’s parent company) in 2022. While at Live Nation, Kluba found a mentor in Steve Gaber, who she worked for as a booking assistant.

“He taught me not only good booking instincts – using analytical skills to make calculated risks – but also how to be the type of person that everyone wants to work with; not only because they trust his business sense, but because he genuinely cares about the job and others,” says Kluba. “I can always trust his advice in a tough situation – even if it’s not always what I want to hear!”

The experience shaped her vision of a strong leader.

“Someone who is tough but kind and is able to give meaningful, helpful feedback that can be implemented,” she says. “I’ve grown the most when I was given room to make decisions (or mistakes), speak up, knowing that my boss was going to support me even if those decisions were not the same exact choice that they would have made. It’s about making space for your team to make their own choices/develop leadership skills in their own style, while also being available to share knowledge and expertise to help guide the way, and introduce different perspectives.”

Kluba cites two sold-out Billie Eilish shows at UBS Arena among career highlights to take place this year.

The team collaborated with GOAL, Support+Feed and Greener By Default to remove all single-use plastic from the venue and convert all public concessions to fully plant-based offerings, in support of Eilish’s sustainable tour efforts.

“While we always love a sold-out show, it is rare that we can make something so impactful happen that not only aligns with the values of the arena, artist and tour, while also creating a very personal experience to Billie’s fans,” says Kluba.