Following this week’s news of a milestone partnership with Outernet London, Legends Global announces two senior promotions. Reflecting the business’ continued investment into the development of its team, and the long-term growth of its concert hall portfolio, Sam Ryder and Rebecca Stevenson both step into new roles.
Sam Ryder has been promoted to Director of Concert Hall Development, Legends Global. This is a newly created role designed to support both a coordinated and proactive approach to business development across Legends Global’s concert hall portfolio. In addition, Sam will continue his role as General Manager at Connexin Live Hull, ensuring strong operational leadership stays in place at the North East venue.
Sam joined the business in 2016 as a Technical Manager at Scunthorpe Baths Hall and has progressed through a number of roles across the company’s concert hall division. Most recently as General Manager at York Barbican and Connexin Live Hull, delivering a record-breaking run at York Barbican with consistently strong ticket sales and commercial success. In his new role, Sam will lead the development of Legends Global’s concert hall strategy, identifying opportunities for growth and supporting the acquisition and mobilisation of new concert hall venues. He will work closely with the Business Development, Operations, Projects and Corporate teams, ensuring concert halls are strategically focused, with the agility required for continued success. Sam will continue to report to Gary Simpson, SVP Operations UK.
Sam Ryder, Director of Concert Hall Development, Legends Global and General Manager, Connexin Live said, “I’m really excited to be heading up a new strategy for Concert Halls at Legends Global. These venues are the cornerstones of their local communities, hosting a wide range of content including community events, emerging artists, and long-established tours. I’m very thankful to Legends for the amazing development I’ve seen internally, from starting out as a Technical Manager in one of these very venues. I’m confident Legends Global can add a huge amount to developing this area of the business and pushing forward the concert hall experience in new and existing markets.”
To support this transition, Rebecca Stevenson has been promoted from Deputy General Manager to General Manager, York Barbican.
Rebecca Stevenson, General Manager at York Barbican said, “In the last five years I’ve had the privilege of witnessing and being part of a significant transformation in our programme, team and overall experience we offer our guests. Looking ahead, we’re excited to build on this momentum and grow our offering for artists, partners and guests alike. I’m incredibly excited about this role, and plan to continue my journey at York Barbican with people as my focus, supporting and developing the brilliant team who work here, in turn continuing to create outstanding and welcoming experiences for everyone who walks through our doors.”
Rebecca joined York Barbican in September 2021 as Events Manager and has since played a pivotal role in the venue’s ongoing success. Her previous experience includes roles at Liverpool Guild of Students (Mountford Hall), as well as positions with Bombed Out Church Liverpool. Rebecca has worked across a range of freelance projects through her career, too, including artist liaison at Leeds Festival, the Netball World Cup at M&S Bank Arena Liverpool, and as Pantomime Production Manager with Case Entertainment.
Gary Simpson, SVP Operations UK at Legends Global said, “These promotions reflect our commitment to developing our team from within and ensuring our concert halls are supported by talented and ambitious leaders. At Legends Global, we recognise that concert halls are vital to the live entertainment ecosystem and we are excited to deliver more growth in that space. York Barbican is a brilliant example, an extremely successful venue which has seen significant growth in recent years, bringing fantastic events to the people of York; Sam and Rebecca have been a key part of that success. Both are excellent examples of the talent we continue to develop through our Leadership Programme, and their progression is a pleasure to see. I’m incredibly proud of both of them, and excited to see them flourish in their new roles.”
Legends Global’s concert halls division includes York Barbican, Connexin Live, Sheffield City Hall, Outernet London and New Century Hall in Manchester. It is supported by a dedicated programming function focused on driving the best content to these venues and fans across the UK.
Author: Sam Hyland
Sam is the assistant content manager for Event Industry News (EIN). Sam is involved in publishing news stories, videos and podcasts. Sam also collates the latest stories for the EIN e-newsletter. If you have a press release or story you think we might be interested to know about please email features@eventindustrynews.com
