Ahmeenah Young appointed President and CEO of PA Convention Center Authority
The Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority today announced the appointment of Ahmeenah Young as the Authority’s new President and Chief Executive Officer.  Young had been Executive Vice President and General Manager and was a key member of the management team credited with elevating the Convention Center to a premier international convention destination.  Immediate past President and Chief Executive Officer Al Mezzaroba will remain on staff through mid-August to ensure a smooth transition and provide guidance on issues related to the Center’s ongoing expansion plans.

“The decision to appoint Ahmeenah was an easy one.  She is one of the most respected leaders in the industry and has been routinely sought after by our competitors around the country to lead their convention centers. I can’t think of a more qualified or dedicated person to take us to the next level,” said PCCA Board Chairman Thomas “Buck” Riley.  “I also want to tip my hat to Al Mezzaroba, whose tireless commitment has brought the Center stability by ushering in and implementing a nationally recognized Bill of Rights for our customers -- which has become an industry standard. Al and Ahmeenah have been a great team; their hard work set the stage for the expansion currently underway,” Riley continued. 

Mayor Michael A. Nutter also had praise for Young. “Ahmeenah Young has over twenty years experience in the hospitality and tourism industry and was a key manager of the building before it opened,” said Mayor Nutter.  “She will continue to provide the kind of sustained leadership necessary for the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority to remain a premier convention center in the United States.”
This appointment crowns Young’s second stint with the facility; she first joined the staff in 1987 as Director of Affirmative Action and was later promoted to Director of Sales and Marketing and Vice President of Sales and Marketing.  She left in 2000 to join SearchWide, LLC as Vice President of Corporate Diversity, where she specialized in recruiting and retaining senior executives for the hospitality and tourism industry, municipal governments, museums, cultural institutions, and the transportation industry. 

In 2002 Young joined the Independence Visitor Center as General Manager, where she had oversight of all segments of visitor services, including administration, strategic planning, fiscal planning and communications with all third party stakeholders.  She returned to the PCCA in 2004 as Executive Vice President of External Affairs, sealing a rare legacy of extensive experience in three key functional areas of the industry: convention center operations, tourism, and hospitality industry executive search. 

Today’s appointment also establishes Young as one of two African American females currently leading a convention center in a major U.S. city.

Built in 1993 during the administration of Mayor W. Wilson Goode, the PCCA has a storied history that includes standoffs with trade union labor and political scrutiny of management.  However, 2003 marked the beginning of a striking turnaround for the facility, beginning with the naming of Al Mezzaroba as President and CEO and the appointment of then-Philadelphia City Council member Michael Nutter as Chairman of the Board of Directors.  Together they developed an achievable plan to resolve outstanding labor and management issues, implement an internal shift to a customer-friendly hospitality culture, and take advantage of the PCCA’s highly skilled managerial and administrative personnel. 

The plan, which was endorsed by Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, resulted in a cascade of site improvements, including a progressive Customer Satisfaction Agreement that eased the process of conducting business within the PCCA, a sweeping Labor Supplier Program that brought jurisdictional clarity to the trade unions, and the establishment of Exhibitor Rights that streamlined convention floor protocol.  As the PCCA’s acclaim grew, the excitement and momentum extended throughout Center City, driving major downtown renovations, building projects and a nationally recognized restaurant renaissance.

The PCCA has undergone two major expansions in its 15-year history, making it one of the largest convention centers in the Northeast and paving the way for it to contribute significantly to the state’s economy.  The facility typically hosts over 200 meetings, conventions and other large events every year and is a tremendous hospitality engine for the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. 

The expansion project currently underway was made possible by the advocacy of State Representative Dwight Evans (D-Philadelphia), Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, which was instrumental in securing state funding for the project.  The construction project, which has an estimated completion target of 2010, will increase the site’s footprint to over one million square feet, create 2,000 hospitality industry jobs, generate $10 million in income tax revenue for the state and contribute $150 million annually to the regional economy.   Mayor Nutter is also in favor of the project. “The expansion would help to make Philadelphia one of the top cities in the country, a premier city,” he said “I’m tremendously excited -- not just for the city, but the region.  More conventions and more businesses will be compelled to come.”

Young’s vision is that every visitor to the city of Philadelphia -- tourist, conventioneer or business traveler -- will have a memorable experience and look forward to returning.  Acknowledging that achievement of the vision will require a collaborative effort across many agencies, Young maintained that the City is ready and praised the dedication and expertise of Philadelphia’s own hospitality and tourism industry professionals, including the PCCA’s staff, the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau (PCVB), the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association, the Multicultural Affairs Congress (MAC), and the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC).

“We have reached an important moment of consensus with the combined support of the Honorable Dwight Evans, Governor Ed Rendell, and Mayor Michael Nutter,” Young remarked.  “Philadelphia has an amazing opportunity to become the standard bearer for the hospitality and tourism industry.”