Sphere Entertainment Co. (NYSE: SPHR) announced that Jennifer Koester, a seasoned executive with over 25 years of diverse experience, will join the Company as President, Sphere Business Operations effective February 5th. In this new position, Ms. Koester will lead the strategy and execution of all business aspects of Sphere, a next-generation entertainment medium that is redefining the future of live entertainment. The first Sphere venue opened in Las Vegas in September 2023.
Ms. Koester will work together with executive leadership to grow the Sphere businesses, including maximizing the calendar and ticket sales with the Company’s proprietary shows and attractions; driving strategic partnerships as well as focusing on bespoke “only in Sphere” bookings with artists, managers, and promoters; and developing a corporate conference business for product launches and other events. Ms. Koester will be based in New York and report to James Dolan, Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Sphere Entertainment.
“I am pleased to welcome Jennifer to Sphere Entertainment,” said Mr. Dolan. “We have seen a strong worldwide reaction to Sphere from customers, brands and artists since our September opening, and we look forward to leveraging Jennifer’s extensive background driving growth at premier technology and entertainment brands as we continue to build our Sphere business.”
“The opportunity to join the Sphere team and be part of this next-generation entertainment medium is a tremendous opportunity,” said Ms. Koester. “Throughout my career, I have focused on pioneering and delivering growth strategies that bridge business needs and leverage new technologies, and I am excited to bring that experience to Sphere.”
Ms. Koester brings extensive leadership experience across a variety of functional areas including sales, marketing, technology, and digital business. For the past 25 years, she has provided legal counsel, led business development efforts, driven strategy and internal operations and external go to market for F100 companies with a unique ability to integrate legal, technical, business and operational matters. Most recently, she served as Managing Director, Americas Strategic Alliances, Global Partnerships at Google Commercial Operations. In this role she was responsible for leading the overall relationship with Google’s most strategic partners to drive greater incremental value across Google’s products and services. Ms. Koester also previously served as Director, Telecommunications and Video Distributors, Global Partnerships at Google, where she was a key contributor to product strategy and roadmaps that delivered new revenue opportunities, including development and monetization of advertising product lines. Ms. Koester’s experience prior to Google includes serving as Senior Vice President of Advanced Advertising Product Development, Data Analytics and Ad Operations at Cablevision.
Ms. Koester received a J.D. from St. John’s University School of Law and a bachelor’s degree in management information system and services from Binghamton University.
