Experient News

June 3, 2008

Experient CEO Ed Shartar Steps Down

Twinsburg, OH – Ed Shartar, President and CEO of Experient since 2004, will be stepping down as President and Chief Executive Officer as of June 6, 2008. 

Under Shartar’s leadership, Experient became a truly unified organization bound by a common strategy and vision. During his four-year tenure, Experient undertook a successful re-branding effort, extended its geographic footprint, aligned its internal structure to support an integrated approach to service, grew revenues, enhanced its presence in the corporate market space and successfully entered the government market. 

“As a result of Ed’s commitment and passion, we are well on the way to making our vision a reality,” said Andrew W. Strauss, Chairman of the Board for Experient and partner with The Riverside Company, Experient’s majority shareholder.

“Ed was initially signed to a four year contract, which was up for renewal, and with the strategy work behind us, Ed and the Board mutually agreed that the future focus of the CEO role needs to shift toward execution and operational excellence,” said Strauss.  “And, we also agreed that the CEO should reside in one of our major operating offices.  Because of Ed’s strong ties to the Atlanta community, he did not want to relocate his family.  For these reasons, the mutual decision was made not to extend Ed’s contract.”

Riverside is firmly committed to the vision and employees of Experient.  Presently, the Board is looking outside the company for a CEO whose primary charge will be to aggressively drive the continued execution of Experient’s strategy – a plan the Board continues to support.  Strauss affirms that no radical adjustment to defined tactics or initiatives will occur in 2008.

The Experient board has appointed George S. Benson to serve as Interim President and CEO while the search is conducted.  George is an operating partner at Riverside and has held a number of CEO positions in a variety of business situations including transitional and growth. As interim CEO, Benson’s focus will be on accelerating the pace of full and successful execution of the company’s strategy. 

Experient is the source for integrated meeting and event solutions including full-service, customized registration, housing, event management and lead retrieval services. With a vision to perfect the event experience and a mission to help bring people together to drive business, this year Experient will create memorable event experiences for its clients at more than 3,300 events attended by more than 2.8 million people who will occupy more than 5.5 million room nights. Visit us at www.experient-inc.com.

Downloadable portraits of Shartar, Strauss and Benson may be found at www.experient-inc.com/press