The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center’s Board of Directors said Wednesday following the unexpected resignation earlier this month of CEO Michael Sawaya, who will step down in December to lead the Audubon Nature Institute. Finance Director Arita Caparrotta has been named interim CEO.
The center’s CEO oversees an organization that earns about $100 million a year from events and a portion of city hospitality taxes. The mile-long facility is also in the midst of a $570 million renovation project, the largest in its 40-year history. The new chief also takes office amid the progress of the $1 billion-plus River District project, one of the state’s largest public-private undertakings, and a proposal to build a new $600 million “headquarters hotel.” .
The board also received the announcement Wednesday that longtime chief commercial officer Tim Hemphill will retire in the new year.
Russell Allen, who was appointed chairman of the center’s 13-person board by Gov. Jeff Landry in March, said it will take time to find permanent replacements for the center’s two top executives. .
Tim Hemphill
“We will be reviewing these positions over the coming period and considering the best way to move forward with filling them,” Allen said at Wednesday’s monthly board meeting. He did not provide a timeline, but said the process would be thorough.
Sawaya has been in the position for more than six years, and previously ran San Antonio’s convention center for 10 years.
Hemphill, 68, joined the convention center about 17 years ago as a sales manager. After graduating from college in the early 1980s, he began working in convention center sales in Fort Worth, and during his career held positions as chief executive at centers in Baton Rouge, Florida, Kissimmee, and Bakersfield, California.
long serving
Caparrotta has been with the Morial Convention Center for 25 years, working in the finance department before taking his current position as chief administrative officer, a position he has held for almost 17 years.
“Let’s take it one step at a time,” Caparrotta said when asked if he planned to run for the permanent CEO position.
At his final board meeting as CEO of the convention center, Sawaya said a tearful farewell. “We are extremely proud of the incredible milestone we achieved together and will cherish it forever,” he said.
