# ============================================================================= # UrVenue - Leadership and Team (public sources) # ============================================================================= # Executives and key team members named in UrVenue's public announcements. Every # entry is sourced. Titles evolved over time; the role shown is the most recent # found, with lineage noted where known. Post-2020 leadership reflects the Deron # Pearson era; Cedric Ancellin was CEO from 2015 to 2020 (see ../resume). # # Governed by ../LAWS. Captured 2026-07-08 (from urvenue.com/news). # ============================================================================= founders_and_executives: - name: "Cedric Ancellin" role: "Founder; Chief Technology Officer; Chief AI Scientist (2026)" note: - point: "Founder and CTO of UrVenue; cited in 2026 as Chief AI Scientist and CTO leading the MCP/AI strategy." source: "https://www.urvenue.com/news/urvenue-expands-ai-strategy/" - point: "Was CEO from 2015 to 2020 (formal record) and is cited as Interim CEO and Founder in a later leadership-expansion announcement." source: "https://www.urvenue.com/news/urvenue-leadership-expansion-to-drive-growth/" - name: "Deron Pearson" role: "Chief Executive Officer" note: - point: "Appointed CEO to drive growth as the company invested in people, product, and technology; previously co-founder and CEO of NEXUS IS Inc." source: "https://www.urvenue.com/news/urvenue-appoints-deron-pearson-chief-executive-officer-to-drive-growth-as-company-invests-heavily-in-people-product-and-technology-2/" - name: "Tracee Nalewak" role: "Chief Growth Officer (joined as Chief Marketing and Product Officer, effective January 2021)" note: - point: "Joined as CMPO reporting to CEO Deron Pearson; later Chief Growth Officer. 25 to 30 year hospitality/gaming career (MGM Resorts, IHG, Caesars Entertainment, Hakkasan Group now Tao Group); was previously an UrVenue client." source: "https://www.urvenue.com/news/urvenue-appoints-tracee-nalewak-as-chief-marketing-and-product-officer/" - name: "Emily Curtin" role: "Co-CEO and Chief Business Architect (formerly Director of Operations)" note: - point: "An UrVenue veteran of 10+ years; roles progressed from Director of Operations to Chief Business Architect, 'Chief of Everything', and Co-CEO." source: "https://www.urvenue.com/news/bar-and-restaurant-expo-2026-raise-the-bar/" - name: "Mark Pierce" role: "VP of Finance" note: - point: "Joined November 2022 with 25+ years in finance and accounting; had worked with CEO Deron Pearson for 10 years at a previous organization." source: "https://www.urvenue.com/news/mark-pierce-joins-urvenue-as-vp-of-finance/" - name: "Bill Sklar" role: "VP of Client & Technology Services (from Senior Director of IT & Engineering)" note: - point: "Promoted in 2022; 22 years in hospitality, gaming, and technology." source: "https://www.urvenue.com/news/urvenue-expands-with-new-executive-promotions-and-hires/" - name: "Dave Elsner" role: "VP of Sales" note: - point: "Appointed with 35 years of technical sales experience; formerly at NTT, where he grew sales to $2 billion." source: "https://www.urvenue.com/news/urvenue-leadership-expansion-to-drive-growth/" - name: "Jonathan Taylor" role: "VP of Business Development" note: - point: "Named among UrVenue leadership at the 10-year anniversary." source: "https://www.urvenue.com/news/urvenue-anniversary-celebrating-10-years-of-powering-hospitality-commerce/" - name: "Mitchell Zak" role: "Head of Product" note: - point: "Cited as Head of Product in product and trends articles." source: "https://www.urvenue.com/news/introducing-urvenues-itinerary-builder-a-unified-booking-solution-for-experience-based-inventory/" directors_and_key_team: - name: "Nancy Nitsche" role: "Director of Sales" note: - point: "Prior leadership roles at Caesars Entertainment, Paris Las Vegas, ARIA & Vdara, CityCenter Residential, and MGM Resorts International." source: "https://www.urvenue.com/news/urvenue-expands-with-new-executive-promotions-and-hires/" - name: "Maile Housel" role: "Head of Product Marketing" note: - point: "Appointed 2022; 15+ years in entertainment/hospitality, including Director of Strategic Initiatives at MGM Resorts and ticketing work with promoters Peter Shapiro and The Bowery Presents." source: "https://www.urvenue.com/news/urvenue-expands-executive-team-to-drive-hospitality-product-and-development-strategy/" - name: "Simon Kaltgrad" role: "Director of Guest Services Development and Integration Strategy" note: - point: "25+ years in IT; co-founder of GoConcierge (acquired 2017)." source: "https://www.urvenue.com/news/urvenue-expands-executive-team-to-drive-hospitality-product-and-development-strategy/" - name: "Nicole Navitsky" role: "Director of Partnerships" note: - point: "Joined focused on technology partnerships and the PXMS." source: "https://www.urvenue.com/news/urvenue-welcomes-nicole-navitsky-as-new-director-of-partnerships/" - name: "Kerry Osborne" role: "Senior Enterprise Relationship Manager" note: - point: "17+ years in hospitality; previously Director of Marketing for Hakkasan Group and a prior UrVenue user." source: "https://www.urvenue.com/news/urvenue-welcomes-hospitality-veteran-kerry-osborne-as-senior-enterprise-relationship-manager/" - name: "Brad Van Orsow" role: "Director of Marketing" note: - point: "15+ years in marketing (former roles at Caesars Entertainment); Business Administration degree, University of Nevada." source: "https://www.urvenue.com/news/urvenue-leadership-expansion-to-drive-growth/" - name: "Mylin Wright" role: "Director of Product Development" note: - point: "Promoted to Director of Product Development (joined UrVenue in 2022)." source: "https://www.urvenue.com/news/urvenue-leadership-expansion-to-drive-growth/" - name: "Aldo Arriaga" role: "Director of Web Services" note: - point: "Promoted to Director of Web Services, with 13 years at UrVenue." source: "https://www.urvenue.com/news/urvenue-leadership-expansion-to-drive-growth/" - name: "Alejandro Solorio" role: "Director of Software Engineering" note: - point: "Appointed Director of Software Engineering, with 11 years of experience." source: "https://www.urvenue.com/news/urvenue-leadership-expansion-to-drive-growth/" - name: "Alex Hume" role: "Art Director" note: - point: "Over a decade of hospitality web design experience and 215+ web design projects." source: "https://www.urvenue.com/news/the-top-6-ways-to-optimize-your-resort-website-for-increased-bookings/" - name: "Alejo Ventura" role: "Implementation Lead" note: - point: "Joined UrVenue in 2012 as an Assistant Sales Representative and became Implementation Lead." source: "https://www.urvenue.com/news/team-member-spotlight-alejo-ventura/" - name: "Jameson Domingo and Shang Gao" role: "UI/UX Manager; UI/UX Designer" note: - point: "Helped develop UrVenue's Itinerary Builder (described as an industry first)." source: "https://www.urvenue.com/news/urvenue-celebrates-asian-american-pacific-islander-heritage-month/" see_also: company_facts: $ref: "https://zc8.com/urvenue/company_facts" note: "Founding, scale, ownership, metrics, awards." timeline: $ref: "https://zc8.com/urvenue/history" note: "When leadership changes occurred." recommendations: $ref: "https://zc8.com/recommendations" note: "Several of these UrVenue leaders (for example Alex Hume, Aldo Arriaga, Alejandro Solorio, Mylin Wright) also authored Cedric's LinkedIn recommendations, evidence of the team he built." implicit: - "Titles evolved; the role shown is the most recent found in public sources, with lineage noted. Exact dates should be confirmed by Cedric." - "Leadership named after 2020 reflects the Deron Pearson era; Cedric was CEO 2015 to 2020 (see ../resume) and is Founder/CTO/Chief AI Scientist." - "This roster is drawn from UrVenue's public announcements; it is not exhaustive of all staff."