On Location, the premium hospitality and events business owned by global sports and entertainment agency Endeavor, has announced three senior executive hires to boost its Olympic and Paralympic Games leadership team.
The firm has appointed Isra Villalpando as senior vice president of operations and strategy, Adam Wixted as vice president of global sales development, and Allan Brooks as senior vice president and managing director for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The additions to On Location’s senior leadership team come on the back of the firm being appointed the exclusive hospitality service provider for the Olympic program in June 2021, to work with future local organizing committees to deliver hospitality experiences for spectators and Olympic stakeholders covering the 2024 Olympics in Paris, the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina, and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Will Whiston, executive vice president of the Olympic and Paralympic Games at On Location, has said: “As we continue to amplify our efforts to deliver a historic experience in Paris this summer and beyond, we are thrilled to welcome Isra, Adam, and Allen to the team.
“With their impressive, combined experience, skills, and in-depth knowledge of the Games, they will each be critical additions to our team as we work with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and organizing committees to transform hospitality for the Olympic and Paralympic Games and sports globally.”
Villalpando will be based in Lausanne, Switzerland, and will be responsible for driving the company’s long-term Olympic and Paralympic strategy, including its partnership with the IOC.
He brings over 15 years of experience working in senior roles within the IOC and International Paralympic Committee (IPC), overseeing the corporate financial planning of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Wixted will be based in New York, US, and take responsibility for maximizing the company’s sales partner network to further expand its global reach.
He has worked in the sports hospitality and experiential industry for more than 20 years including on 10 Olympic Games, as well as soccer’s FIFA World Cup and Women’s World Cup, American football’s Super Bowl, golf’s Ryder Cup, and NFL international games.
Brooks, meanwhile, will be based in Los Angeles, in the US, and will oversee the strategic direction and partnership with the LA28 organizing committee, having led the planning and delivery of venue operations, sponsor activations, and hospitality programs for major events including 11 Olympic and Paralympic Games, two FIFA World Cups, and the Super Bowl, among others.
The IOC has claimed that its new hospitality model will ensure improved services for the families and friends of competing Olympic athletes, including tickets, support for travel, and access to accommodation.
The strategy forms part of Olympic Agenda 2020+5, the next phase of the IOC’s reform program, which was unveiled by president Thomas Bach in February 2021.
Until now, the IOC had worked with authorized ticket resellers in specific countries and regions to provide hospitality services for fans looking to attend the Olympics.
Endeavor, the global entertainment, sport, and content company, completed the acquisition of a majority stake in On Location at the start of 2020, in a deal worth about $660 million, with the NFL also increasing its holding, from 16% to upwards of 20%.
