Joe GallopAEG Presents president of global touring Gary Gersh is to step down after almost 10 years working at the company.
His departure, first reported by Billboard, was announced by AEG chairman Jay Marciano in a staff letter on 13 September. The company’s current senior VP of global touring Rich Schaefer will fill Gersh’s former role.
Gersh, who joined AEG in 2015, began his career in the 1980s, serving as an A&R exec at Geffen Records, where he played a key role in signing artists such as Sonic Youth and Nirvana to the label.
During the 1990s Gersh was the CEO of Capitol Records and launched G.A.S Entertainment with John Silva. He also lead The Artist Organization, representing artists such as Lenny Kravitz and John Legend.
In his staff letter, Marciano said, “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. 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.
“Stepping into Gary’s role as president, Global Touring will be our very own Rich Schaefer. Rich, who has been SVP of the division since joining the company in 2018, has an extensive resume and years of experience beyond his current duties here. He started his career in artist development at a record label before moving into management, where he spent two decades working across all aspects of artists’ careers while also developing a specialty in touring.”