Gary Gersh, AEG’s President of Global Touring, Announces Departure

Gary Gersh, president of global touring at AEG Presents, is leaving the concert promotion giant after eight years at the company, chairman Jay Marciano announced in a staff letter on Wednesday (Sept. 13). Rich Schaefer, currently the company’s senior vp of global touring, will step into Gersh’s role as president.

“Gary played a vital role in the development and growth of Global Touring; his energy, passion and initiative helped nurture an embryonic idea into a powerhouse team that has made a substantial impact on both our business specifically and the industry as a whole,” Marciano told staff in the staff memo. “I know I speak for all of us when I say thank you, Gary, for your many contributions to AEG Presents these last eight years. We wish you nothing but continued success in your future ventures.”

Gersh is a well-known record executive who signed Sonic Youth and Nirvana to Geffen Records and was CEO of Capitol Records, where he worked with the likes of Radiohead, Soundgarden and Foo Fighters. Just prior to AEG, he served as CEO of the Artists Organization. Gersh did not disclose where he’s headed next.

In a goodbye note to staff, Gersh wrote, “This was not a decision I came to lightly, as working alongside everyone at this company these past eight years has been a career highlight for me, but I’m excited about the prospects ahead and look forward to us crossing paths again in the future. And while it’s sad to leave this incredible team behind, I couldn’t be more proud to place the global touring division in the very capable hands of my longtime friend and partner in business Rich Schaefer.”

As for Schaefer, Marciano says the veteran executive “brings a thorough understanding of our business to the job and is looking forward to hitting the ground running and executing at the highest level on behalf of both Global Touring and AEG Presents.”

Schaefer will continue working out of AEG’s New York office.