Coventry Building Society (CBS) Arena has promoted Paul Michael from commercial director to managing director.
Michael has been commercial director at the venue since 2019. This has included overseeing the commercial strategy for the business since being brought under the new ownership of Mike Ashley’s Fraser Group last year.
Since joining CBS Arena, Michael has become a key figure in the Coventry and Warwickshire business community, while also advocating for the tourism, leisure and events industry nationally.
He is chairman of the oversight board for destination management organisation Destination Coventry and is also a board director for the Association of Event Venues (AEV).
Michael’s promotion to managing director is the second key appointment made at the venue in recent months, following Gary Hoffman’s appointment as non-executive chairman.
Michael has more than 20 years’ experience in the leisure and hospitality sector, with 15 years working in management roles for Hilton Hotels. He started his career as operations manager for Holiday Inn Birmingham Airport, before moving to Hilton Hotels in 2007 to be operations manager of its Warwick hotel.
Michael’s first general manager role was at Hilton Basingstoke, before moving to Hilton Nottingham in 2011 where he was also chairman of the Nottingham Hoteliers Association. His first role at CBS Arena was as general manager of the newly opened 121-bedroom on-site Doubletree by Hilton hotel at the Arena in 2016.
CBS Arena attracted nearly one million visitors last year and hosted 630 events. In May the venue hosted around 179,000 people across exhibitions, conferences, meetings, music and sport.
Michael said: “We have a superb team here at Coventry Building Society Arena, and with significant investment being made in the venue, means we are well-positioned to establish our name as a world-class destination for business, entertainment and sport. I’m excited to be leading the venue into this new chapter.”
