McGrane Leaves Javits for Centerplate
By Rachel Wimberly -- Tradeshow Week, 1/8/2007
Myles T. McGrane, general manager of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center of New York, went on vacation last month and left instructions to have an e-mail sent to some of his closest clients informing them that he would be leaving Javits at the end of the year.
Sometimes, even the best laid plans go awry. Javits staff inadvertently sent the e-mail to a much wider audience, and the cat was out of the bag sooner than McGrane anticipated.
Of course, the first question everyone had was: Where was he going?
"Rumors started flying," McGrane said. "A lot of people asked if I was going to Freeman; others thought I was going to VNU. I was even asked if I was going to write a book. Now, that was a funny one."
Turns out they were all wrong. On Dec. 19, Stamford, Conn.-based catering firm Centerplate announced McGrane would be its corporate vice president of facility design and management.
McGrane said it simply was time for him to move on. "I've been at it for 12 years," he said. "I think the company will survive without me."
When the Javits center opened in 1986, McGrane was its first director of operations. He did leave the facility briefly in 1994 to get the sales and marketing efforts of a new technology company in Atlanta up and running, but the Javits eventually lured him back.
"Professionally, it's the best time I've ever had," McGrane said of his tenure at the convention center. "We grew the company, quadrupled it, actually, in the size of revenue and occupancy, as much as we really could until we have an expansion."
In October, New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Gov. George E. Pataki trumpeted the long-awaited start of construction on the Javits Center expansion and renovation project. The first phase of the project, expected to cost $1.68 billion and be completed by 2010, will increase the venue's exhibit space by 45 percent. It will begin with the demolition of two buildings on the site's north side to make way for construction.
A Javits center expansion has been in the works for years. Among several studies undertaken on the subject, a pivotal one by PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2001 concluded that the center needed two-thirds more exhibit space and four times as much meeting space to stay competitive. McGrane fully supported the effort it took to move the expansion plans forward over the years.
McGrane also worked closely with a number of show management companies, including George Little Management, which holds approximately 10 shows a year at Javits.
"We're very sorry to see him go," said Mike Ruberry, GLM's vice president of operations. "He's been a fixture of the building since it opened. He knew how to get answers and how to get things done for us. He knew us really well, and a big part of this business is relationships."
Tim McGuinness, NYC & Co. vice president of sales, was also sorry to see McGrane leave. "I've had a relationship with Myles for close to 20 years. He's been a good business colleague, and I'm disappointed to see he's leaving the Javits center," McGuinness said. "He's been such a valuable asset, but I understand his decision, and congratulations to Centerplate because they really got a good professional."
McGrane joined Centerplate Jan. 2. In a statement, Janet Steinmayer, the company's president and CEO, said, "We are very excited to have someone with Myles' experience join the Centerplate team. We know that our clients will greatly benefit from his expertise in running facilities and managing design and construction projects."
At press time, Javits had not announced a replacement for McGrane.
McGuinness said he hoped the facility could "replace him with the same caliber of person, but I don't know where they will find him. He was a one-of-a-kind guy."
