Executive Team
John Gore
John Gore has won 20 Tonys, an Olivier and an Emmy Award. He is a British producer who is Chairman, C.E.O. and sole owner of the John Gore Organization family of companies. These include Broadway Across America, Broadway.com, The Broadway Channel, BroadwayBox.com and Group Sales Box Office.
The company produces shows on Broadway, in London’s West End, Japan, China and presents in 48 cities across North America. Presentations include The Phantom of the Opera, Disney’s The Lion King, Wicked, The Book of Mormon and Hamilton. Recent U.S. investments include Ain’t Too Proud; Chicago; Dear Evan Hansen; Hamilton; Mean Girls; Moulin Rouge! The Musical and Tina: The Tina Turner Musical.
As a film producer, his work includes the film “Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story” (2010 Emmy Award nomination) and, the television special, WCBS-TV’s “At The Tony’s with Imogen Lloyd Webber” (2018 NY Emmy Award). He directed the only stage adaptations of Batman and Star Trek and produced the record breaking Thunderbirds FAB, which at the age of 26 made him the youngest ever successful West End producer. He followed this with the hit Wallace & Gromit on stage at Sadler’s Wells. His show investments include the original London productions of Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, Wicked and Hamilton.
A committed philanthropist, John and his companies provide support to a diverse array of more than 60 organizations spanning virtually every conceivable sector of not-for-profit theater work. Recent programs include establishing a new award supporting emerging artists with the Princess Grace Foundation USA, underwriting Hamilton’s education programs with the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History, providing theater educators in the NYC public schools through the Arthur Miller Foundation, as well as supporting Columbia University’s T-Fellowship Program, and the American Theatre Wing’s Andrew Lloyd Webber Initiative. In 2017, John partnered with Scarlett Johansson to organize a one-night-only, all-star benefit reading of Our Town featuring Johansson, Robert Downey Jr. and the cast of the Avengers, raising $500,000 for the Hurricane Maria Community Relief & Recovery Fund.
Miles Wilkin
Miles Wilkin, the Vice Chair of The John Gore Organization, is one of the leading innovators of the international entertainment industry, with over 30 years of experience. He provides the vision for Broadway Across America’s significant touring network and Broadway.com’s vast e-commerce network. Wilkin, an original founder of Broadway Across America, is more broadly recognized as one of the founders of North American Touring Theatre. During his most recent stint at Broadway Across America, he revitalized its North American Presenting and Theatre operation. Prior to BAA, he worked with Live Nation and its predecessors (Clear Channel Entertainment, Clear Channel Europe, SFX Entertainment, PACE Entertainment and PACE Theatrical) in various senior management positions where he was responsible for all divisions within the company, including: North American Music, North American Theatre, Motorsports, Sports, International Music, International Theatre. Miles is the recipient of numerous awards including: 6 Tony Awards for producing (Spamalot, Hairspray, The Producers, Fiddler on the Roof, Gypsy and Jerome Robbins’ Broadway), a Theatre Lifetime Achievement Award from The Broadway League, and at the 2016 Tony Awards was honored with a Special Tony Award.
Lauren Reid
Lauren Reid, President of the John Gore Organization (JGO), is a twenty-seven year entertainment industry veteran who has built her career out of her lifelong passion for live entertainment. Driven by a commitment to extend the reach of Broadway, Lauren has helped steer JGO, through its various subsidiaries, to become the leading presenter, distributor and marketer of commercial theater. In addition to its dozens of productions currently on Broadway and around the world, JGO presents theater in 48 markets in North America, and reaches more than 35 million fans each year through its variety of digital platforms. JGO’s family of companies, all of which are under Lauren’s operational oversight, includes Broadway Across America, Broadway.com, The Broadway Channel, BroadwayBox.com and Group Sales Box Office.
Lauren first joined the JGO family in 1992, beginning a 13-year tenure during which she held a range of leadership positions. She left the company in 2006 to help launch, and serve as COO of, BASE Entertainment, where she managed worldwide operations, produced live music acts and Broadway shows, and oversaw the construction and operation of multiple venues in Las Vegas, China and Singapore. In 2010, she returned to JGO and began her steady assent up the ranks, before being named COO in 2017.
Lauren began her career as a talent manager and booker in the then-still-burgeoning Austin, Texas music scene, before going on to serve as national publicist for magician David Copperfield.
Lauren is an active member of The Broadway League, where she was named Chair, and currently serves on its Executive Committee and its Board of Governors. She also serves on the boards of trustees for The Entertainment Community Fund and The Hobby Center in Houston. She teaches “The Business of Entertainment” at her alma mater, The University of Texas, and splits her time between New York City and Connecticut, but you might find her in New Orleans at Jazzfest or catching a live show in one the historic venues around the country that her husband, David, renovated and operated. She first fell in love with theater at age 10 while attending a touring production of Annie in Houston, Texas.
Jerome Kane
Jerome Kane, Co-CEO of the Interactive Division of The John Gore Organization, in partnership with Matt Kupchin, oversees all aspects of the Broadway.com, Broadwaybox.com and Group Sales Box Office businesses. Jerome previously worked for Disney Theatrical Productions for a 10 year period, holding various positions from Box office Manager to Vice President of Ticketing. Prior to his time at Disney, Jerome worked for 18 years for the Nederlander Organization as Treasurer of the Palace and Richard Rodgers Theaters.
Matt Kupchin
Matt Kupchin founded BroadwayTheater.com in 1997 and subsequently sold it to Hollywood Media Corp in 2000, where it was relaunched as Broadway.com. Matt has overseen the business since its foundation and does so now in partnership with Jerome Kane, including the management of the BroadwayBox.com and Group Sales Box Office brands. In addition, Matt manages software development and information systems for JGO.
Rich Jaffe
Rich Jaffe, CEO, Theatre Division & CMO, has been promoting live entertainment for more than 25 years with a broad background in commercial entertainment, non-profit regional theater management and ticketing technology. As CEO of the Theatre Division, Rich is overseeing Broadway Across America’s presenting line of business. As CMO, Rich oversees all marketing and communications for the company. Rich joined BAA in 2010 to lead Broadway In Boston, overseeing BAA’s Broadway presenting business and venue operations in the Boston market. Prior to joining BAA, Rich was part of the leadership team at one of the country’s leading regional non-profit theaters, Trinity Repertory Company. Prior to Trinity Rep, Rich founded and launched the ticketing industry’s first web-based sales analytics company, Live Audience Business Solutions (LABS), introducing yield management principles to the live entertainment industry with clients such as Radio City Entertainment, Big Apple Circus, Disney Theatricals and Dodger Theatricals. Rich began his career spending a decade with MSG/Radio City in various roles, including Marketing Director overseeing family entertainment, concerts, boxing, college basketball, tennis and institutional branding for Madison Square Garden.
Paul Dietz
Paul Dietz is the CFO for The John Gore organization, where he leads all finance and accounting functions. Paul has over twenty years’ experience in corporate finance, including seven years with Live Nation as CFO of its Global Theatre Division (2007) and Vice President of Strategic Planning & Corporate Development (2000-2006). Prior to joining JGO, Paul was the founding COO/CFO of Unigo.com, a start-up that was chronicled in The New York Times Magazine and entered into a joint venture with the Wall Street Journal within six months of launch. Earlier in his career, he spent nine years with Sony Corporation of America in various finance and business development roles principally involving Sony’s entertainment units. Paul received his MBA from Columbia University’s School of Business and a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Connecticut. He is a licensed CPA in the State of New York (inactive).
Kumiko Yoshii
Kumiko Yoshii is the Executive Vice President/ Head of International Business Development for The John Gore Organization, where she is responsible for initiating its global business strategies, managing international investment deals for productions on Broadway and in the West End, as well as bringing touring Broadway productions to Asia. Her selected producing credits prior to joining JGO include Pacific Overtures (Broadway), Big River (North American Tour), The Producers (Japan) and The Sound of Music (Japan). She is also the Executive Producer of Japan Day @ Central Park, an annual event in its 8th year. She serves as a member of the Board of Directors of The New Group. She is a recipient of the 10th annual Outstanding 50 Asian Americans in Business Award, and she was acknowledged by the Minister of National Policy of Japan for her outstanding contributions and activities representing Japan in 2012. She has a MFA in Performing Arts Management from The City University of New York.
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Sheila Lavu
General Counsel
Bio
Sheila Lavu
Sheila Lavu acts as General Counsel for the John Gore Organization (“JGO”). JGO’s family of companies includes Broadway Across America (with a touring Broadway presence in 47 regional markets), Broadway.com, The Broadway Channel, BroadwayBox.com and Group Sales Box Office. JGO companies also own or operate The Hippodrome Theatre in Baltimore, the Charles Playhouse in Boston, and the State, Pantages and Orpheum Theatres in Minneapolis. Sheila provides legal, compliance and business development advice for a diverse range of Broadway and theatre related matters, including presenting, ticket sales, theatre operations, show editorial and marketing development, distribution of video content, corporate sponsorships, venue licensing agreements, and customer relations.
Hailing from Syracuse, New York, she pursued undergraduate studies at Columbia University in part so that she could be near the buzz of Broadway and New York City’s many cultural offerings. She subsequently obtained a Masters in French Cultural Studies from Columbia University in Paris, France. After earning legal degrees from both Cornell Law School and the Université Panthéon-Sorbonne in Paris, Sheila began her legal career at Shearman & Sterling LLP, where she practiced in Capital Markets and Litigation. In addition, while there, a substantial part of her work included pro bono representation of clients seeking asylum. She will always remember the first Broadway show she attended (the original Broadway production of Rent) and how it changed her life for the better.
Debbie Adelsberg
Vice President, Human Resources
Bio
Debbie Adelsberg
Vice President Human Resources, has over 20 years of experience as an HR professional in the entertainment industry. Debbie joined the John Gore Organization in 2019, moving across the country from Los Angeles to become a full-time New Yorker. At JGO, Debbie is a trusted advisor to C level executives and part of the strategic leadership team. Debbie oversees the HR function across all business units including Broadway Across America, Broadway.com, Broadway News, BroadwayBox.com, Group Sales Box Office, and The Broadway Channel. In this role, she oversees a team responsible for HR operations, compliance, 401K administration, recruiting, onboarding, benefits, employee engagement, compensation, learning and development, EDIA, and immigration.
Prior to joining JGO, Debbie served as the Vice President of Human Resources at IMAX Corporation, an entertainment technology company specializing in large format motion-picture presentations. In that capacity, she was the HR Business Partner for Global Marketing, Legal, and IMAX Entertainment, responsible for all compliance, employee relations, and HR programs for US employees. Prior to joining IMAX, Debbie was the Director of Human Resources and Administration at THQ Inc., a developer and publisher of interactive software. Debbie holds a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Communication from Arizona State University.
Board of Directors
Peter Schneider
Chairman of the Board
Bio
Peter Schneider
Peter Schneider is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of The John Gore Organization and an internationally-acclaimed producer and director. He is the recipient of a Best Musical Tony Award for producing The Lion King on Broadway, and he directed productions of My Life with Men…and Other Animals (New York, Italy, Romania), Pal Joey (Pasadena, CA, Little Rock, AK), Sister Act, TheMusical (London, Atlanta, Pasadena), and Hot L Baltimore (Romania). Schneider also produced the award-winning 2009 documentary Waking Sleeping Beauty about Disney Animation from 1984 – 1994. During a seventeen-year tenure at the Walt Disney Company, he spearheaded the creation of over fifty films including The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast (Golden Globe Award), The Little Mermaid, Toy Story and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. In addition to JGO, Schneider serves on the boards of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and The American Theatre Wing (co-producer of the Tony Awards). He is also a world champion bridge player, having won the Transnational Open Teams in Estoril, Portugal.
John Gore
Director
Bio
John Gore
JOHN GORE has won 18 Tonys, an Olivier and an Emmy Award. He is a British producer who is Chairman, C.E.O. and sole owner of the John Gore Organization family of companies. These include Broadway Across America, Broadway.com, The Broadway Channel, BroadwayBox.com and Group Sales Box Office.
The company produces shows on Broadway, in London’s West End, Japan, China and presents in 45 cities across North America. Presentations include The Phantom of the Opera, Disney’s The Lion King, Wicked, The Book of Mormon and Hamilton. Recent U.S. productions include Anastasia; The Band’s Visit; Beautiful; Chicago; Dear Evan Hansen; Hello, Dolly!; Kinky Boots; Mean Girls; School of Rock and Waitress.
As a film producer, his work includes the film “Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story” (2010 Emmy Award nomination) and, the television special, WCBS-TV’s “At The Tony’s with Imogen Lloyd Webber” (2018 NY Emmy Award). He directed the only stage adaptations of Batman and Star Trek and produced the record breaking Thunderbirds FAB, which at the age of 26 made him the youngest ever successful West End producer. He followed this with the hit Wallace & Gromit on stage at Sadler’s Wells. His show investments include the original London productions of Cats, The Phantom of the Opera, Wicked and Hamilton.
A committed philanthropist, John and his companies provide support to a diverse array of more than 60 organizations spanning virtually every conceivable sector of not-for-profit theater work. Among its recent educational support, JGO partnered with the Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History to underwrite Hamilton’s education programs as well as providing funding for the Arthur Miller Theater Education Program, Columbia University’s T-Fellowship Program, and the American Theatre Wing’s Andrew Lloyd Webber Initiative. In 2017, John partnered with Scarlett Johansson to organize a one-night-only, all-star benefit reading of Our Town featuring Johansson, Robert Downey Jr. and the cast of the Avengers, raising $500,000 for the Hurricane Maria Community Relief & Recovery Fund.
Thomas P. Benson
Director
Bio
Thomas B. Benson
Thomas Benson, Board Director, was most recently the Executive Vice President and CFO of Core Media Group, where he led the company through a $250 million initial public offering. Core Media is the owner of several leading entertainment brands, including the television properties American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance. Prior to Core Media, Thomas served as the Senior Vice President and CFO for SFX Entertainment, where he played a leading role in analyzing, negotiating, closing and integrating over 50 acquisitions of local and regional entertainment businesses in North America and Europe. Thomas then went on to serve as the Senior Vice President and CFO for FXM, a private investment firm founded by former executives at SFX Entertainment He has also held senior financial positions at SFX Broadcasting Inc., American Express Travel Related Services, Inc. and Ernst & Young, LLP.
Miles Wilkin
Director
Bio
Miles Wilkin
Miles Wilkin, the Vice Chair of The John Gore Organization, is one of the leading innovators of the international entertainment industry, with over 30 years of experience. He provides the vision for Broadway Across America’s significant touring network and Broadway.com’s vast e-commerce network. Wilkin, an original founder of Broadway Across America, is more broadly recognized as one of the founders of North American Touring Theatre. During his most recent stint at Broadway Across America, he revitalized its North American Presenting and Theatre operation. Prior to BAA, he worked with Live Nation and its predecessors (Clear Channel Entertainment, Clear Channel Europe, SFX Entertainment, PACE Entertainment and PACE Theatrical) in various senior management positions where he was responsible for all divisions within the company, including: North American Music, North American Theatre, Mostorsports, Sports, International Music, International Theatre. Miles is the recipient of numerous awards including: 6 Tony Awards for producing (Spamalot, Hairspray, The Producers, Fiddler on the Roof, Gypsy and Jerome Robbins’ Broadway), a Theatre Lifetime Achievement Award from The Broadway League, and at the 2016 Tony Awards was honored with a Special Tony Award.
Kenichi Kambe
Director
Bio
Kenichi Kambe
Kenichi Kambe, Board Director, serves as Deputy Director for the Events Project Department of Tokyo Broadcasting System Television, Inc. (TBS), a major television network which produces and broadcasts TV programs across its 28 affiliate networks and various streaming platforms. In addition, TBS plays a prominent role in live entertainment, cultural projects, film production, video distribution, education, real estate, and retail business in Japan and internationally. TBS produces and presents theater productions in Japan, and its past shows include Cabaret, Chicago, Rent, The Producers, A Chorus Line, Dreamgirls, West Side Story, Million Dollar Quartet, and War Horse. TBS also owns and operates the prominent TBS Akasaka ACT Theater and IHI STAGE AROUND TOKYO. Most recently TBS co-produced the Japanese language production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child which opened in Summer 2022 at TBS’s own TBS Akasaka ACT Theater.
Divisional Management
Broadway Across America
Susie Krajsa, President
Rob Cheatham, SVP, Operations & Labor
Jill Keyishian, SVP, Programming
Joanna Minerley, SVP, Sales & Analytics
Kurt Rodeghiero, SVP, Strategy
Bob Bucci, President, Marketing
Ronald Andrew, Chairman, Broadway Across Canada
Leslie Broecker, President, Midwest
Ron Legler, President, France-Merrick Performing Arts Center
Jim Sheeley, President, North
Russ Belin, VP, South
John Breckenridge, VP, Southwest
Krissi Diers, VP, North
Anne Francis, VP, West Coast
Victor Hamburger, VP, Mountain
Glenn Hill, VP, Corporate Partnerships
Genevieve Holt, VP, Midwest
Shana Levin, VP, Broadway Across Canada
Tivon Marcus, VP, Broadway In Boston
Broadway.com, The Broadway Channel & BroadwayBox.com
Paul Wontorek, Editor-in-Chief
Drew Kupchin, VP, Ticketing
Steve Prager, VP, Information Systems
Kevin Fricovsky, Chief Architect
Katy Fitzpatrick, VP, Advertising & Marketing
Group Sales Box Office
Stephanie Lee, President and CEO