Jeffrey Mann to Fill New COO Role at Walton Arts Center

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS, June 8, 2022 – Jeffrey Mann has been hired to fill a new chief operating officer role at Walton Arts Center. In this position, Mann will directly oversee all facility operations, marketing and public relations of both Walton Arts Center and Walmart AMP and guide Walton Arts Center’s programming and education initiatives.

“With continued growth in programming of both Walton Arts Center and Walmart AMP, we realized the need to have someone focused on the overall maintenance of day-to-day operations of our venues” said Peter B. Lane, president and chief executive officer of Walton Arts Center. Lane will continue to oversee fundraising, new business initiatives, strategic planning and organizational health of Walton Arts Center. 

Mann brings to the role deep experience with sports and entertainment venues, as both an operator and a promoter. Most recently Mann was vice president of Nashville-based Outback Presents, an independent promoter of live events. Mann also spent five years with Live Nation as a general manager of Xfinity Center and Orpheum Theater in Boston. Before that he was COO of the International Association of Venue Managers, a global trade association for venue professionals. He is a Certified Venue Executive through IAVM.

“I am excited about the new challenges and opportunities that come with this position,” Mann said. “Walton Arts Center and the Walmart AMP are important cultural institutions in this region with strong reputations and I want to build upon that tradition of top-notch services and programming.”

Mann will step into the new role on July 1.

Support for Walton Arts Center is provided, in part, by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Walton Arts Center is Arkansas’ largest and busiest performing arts presenter. Each year more than 215,000 people from Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and Oklahoma and beyond attend more than 300 public events at Walton Arts Center, including performances, rehearsals, community gatherings, receptions, weddings and more. Approximately 35,000 students and teachers participate annually in arts learning programs at Walton Arts Center, and almost 250 volunteers donate 28,000 hours of time each year to its operations. Walton Arts Center presents entertainers and artists from around the world including Broadway musicals, renowned dance companies, international artists, up-and-coming jazz musicians and more. As a non-profit organization, Walton Arts Center enjoys the generous support of public sector funding, corporate sponsorship and private donors, allowing audience members to enjoy world-class performances at a great price. To learn more about Walton Arts Center, visit www.waltonartscenter.org.

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