Emerald Expositions announced that Kenji Haroutunian will be stepping down from his role as show director of Outdoor Retailer to pursue other professional opportunities. Haroutunian makes this move after 15 years with Outdoor Retailer.
Emerald also announced that Marisa Nicholson has been named VP, Group Show Director of the Outdoor Group. In this new role, Nicholson will lead the teams’ execution of both the Winter and Summer Market Outdoor Retailer Shows, the 29th and 36th largest shows respectively in the U.S
Nicholson has been with Outdoor Retailer for 11 years, most recently as Group Sales Director of the Sports Group. In this role she contributed toward overall strategy and led a team of 10 account executives dedicated to Outdoor Retailer, the Sports Licensing and Tailgate Show, as well as Interbike. Prior to her tenure with Emerald Expositions, Nicholson was with Advanstar Communications.
“Marisa was an obvious choice to take the reins of Outdoor Retailer. She has been a key driver of growth and development of OR, and has an intimate understanding of the successes, the challenges and the future goals. She understands the needs of the exhibitors and brings an informed attention and focus on the needs of the industry’s retail community,” said Darrell Denny, EVP Sports, Apparel, eCommerce, Licensing & Business Development for Emerald Expositions.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to further the growth of Outdoor Retailer and honor the traditions that Kenji so successfully shepherded,” said Nicholson.
There’s been no official word on Haroutunian’s immediate employment plans, but indications are he will continue to work within the outdoor specialty industry.
“I’ve enjoyed the challenge of managing the shows for seven years, and with the Outdoor Retailer team poised for future greatness, the time is right for me to move on,” said Haroutunian. “I’m proud of my tenure with the team, and I’m excited to move into my next role, in service to the industry I am so passionate about.”
“Kenji served the industry well. Having joined Outdoor Retailer after many successful years with Adventure 16, he never lost sight of the everyday challenges of the specialty stores, and worked to support and address their needs with programing. I am confident Kenji will be successful in his future pursuits,” added Denny.
“In my mind, Kenji’s personal and professional background makes him an ideal candidate for the OIA president role,” said Drew Simmons, founder and president of Pale Morning Media and long-time industry and show veteran. “Not only would he bring the ideal Rolodex of industry contacts, he could certainly do an excellent job of leveraging the relationship with OR.”
We tend to agree with Simmons’ analysis
