Former LV Monorail exec hired as LVCVA marketing vice president

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority has hired a former Las Vegas Monorail Co. executive as a vice president of marketing.

Ingrid Reisman, who held the title of senior vice president of corporate communications at the monorail company, was appointed to the position in February and will report to Chief Marketing Officer Kate Wik.

The LVCVA acquired the monorail, a 3.9-mile elevated electric transit system, in November for $22.46 million in a “prepackaged” bankruptcy plan authorized by U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Natalie Cox. LVCVA President and CEO Steve Hill said at the time that the monorail is an important transportation component that directly benefits the Las Vegas Convention Center.

But the more important piece of the acquisition was that the convention authority took control of a noncompete document that, if enforced, would have prohibited any transit system from being established east of the Las Vegas Strip.

The LVCVA immediately nullified the noncompete policy to allow Elon Musk’s The Boring Co. to establish an underground transportation system using Tesla electric vehicles operating in tunnels and serving several Strip resorts and attractions. Boring already has begun planning and received approvals from Clark County and the city of Las Vegas for what it is calling the “Las Vegas Loop.”

Once the convention authority took possession of the monorail, several former monorail executives took positions with Western Management Group, which in January was hired by the LVCVA to operate the monorail system in a contract not to exceed $45 million, running through June 30, 2023.

Marketing knowledge and continuity

Reisman was the only exception, working directly for the LVCVA and getting the position without a competitive search because of her expertise in marketing, advertising sales and public relations for the monorail.

“Ingrid’s institutional marketing knowledge and the continuity she brings from her years at the Las Vegas Monorail Co. will enable us to have a seamless marketing transition of the monorail system,” LVCVA spokeswoman Lori Kraft said Tuesday.

According to the LVCVA, the role of the new vice president of marketing is to drive all aspects of the monorail’s marketing, sales, communications and e-commerce programs. The role is expected to “ensure the smooth transition and integration of the monorail into the broader LVCVA organization … and will lead the evolution of monorail marketing and sales activities to leverage scale and find efficiencies from the LVCVA integration, including selling tickets and advertising.”

Opportunity to leverage resources

Reisman will be paid $164,500 a year, plus benefits. While with the Monorail company, she was paid $251,794 a year, including $17,902 in nontaxable benefits, according to an IRS Form 990 for nonprofit organizations filed for 2019.

“Bringing the sales and marketing functions of the monorail under the LVCVA allows us to leverage the significant resources and infrastructure that already exist within this global marketing organization,” Reisman said in an emailed statement.

“My more than 25 years of diverse marketing and partnership development experience within the transportation industry, with 15 years dedicated to the Las Vegas Monorail system, are a strong complement to the LVCVA’s capabilities to ensure we reopen and operate the monorail system in the most effective and efficient way possible,” she said.

The monorail system is expected to be reopened around the Memorial Day weekend after being closed a year ago because of restrictions imposed during the coronavirus pandemic.

Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on Twitter.