The National Western Center on Wednesday named a new CEO to replace Brad Buchanan.

Katherine “Kate” Girotti, an industry marketer, will take the reins in a couple of weeks, according to a news release.

“What attracted me to this project was really kind of a culmination of all my experience on not only the venue side, but the hospitality side, from hotels, restaurants, destinations, entertainment districts, and venues, kind of culminating in this one campus,” Girotti told The Denver Gazette. “Plus, the community activation and the educational component of it – which is what really attracted me to this opportunity.”

After eight years as CEO of The National Western Center, Buchanan was named by Mayor Mike Johnston to be the executive director of the city’s Community Planning and Development in October.

He executed both roles until his replacement was found.

The sole finalist for the position, Girotti is expected to “build on the momentum of the National Western Center and strengthen its impact for the community, partners, and stakeholders across Colorado and beyond,” said John Ikard, chairman of the NWC Authority Board of Directors, in a news release.

Girotti has worked in Glendale, Arizona for the Desert Diamond Arena, then known as the Gila River Arena, since 2018. As the regional vice president of marketing and the assistant general manager with ASM Global, she oversaw venue and tour marketing.

While in this position, Girotti helped to optimize revenue, driving the arena to one of its most profitable years, according to The Glendale Star.

She was named one of Billboard’s 2023 Top Women in Music, and recognized by Pollstar and VenuesNow 2023 Women of Live.

Girotti moved into a role as the senior vice president of marketing at Legends Global when the company combined with ASM Global.

In this role, she played a large part in expanding the company’s venue portfolio and overall growth, according to Billboard.

Girotti also has history as an active member of the Arizona Chapter of Women in Sports and Events, where she mentored young women pursuing careers in the field, according to WISE Arizona. The organization awarded her with a Women of Inspiration Award in 2020.

Girotti made it clear her approach to entering her new role is to “listen and learn.”

She intends to get a feel for the momentum the center has going and optimize it with her prior experience.

Girotti’s priorities are “getting a real understanding of the systems in place, and then taking a look at the areas of my expertise in meetings, conventions, concerts, family shows, and alternative types of entertainment to see how we can program the campus,” she said.

Girotti is taking steps toward understanding the Denver area in both business and personal ways.

In addition to meeting with National Western Center stakeholders and staff members, Girotti has become active in local tennis, pickleball and golf leagues to establish a relationship with the community, she said.

She also met with community members at the Focus Points Family Resource Center this week to “understand what is important to folks, programs that are already in place, and that they want to make sure remain in place.”

“One of my biggest things is making sure that we continue to create that partnership locally, to ensure that the campus is programmed with something for everybody,” Girotti said.

To determine what events to bring to the center, Girotti plans on “taking a look at what is going to drive people to the campus and then generate revenue for all of the partners involved and really create a partnership between all of the organizations that are there and the community,” she said.

The new CEO anticipates her biggest challenge being “getting up to speed as quickly as possible” as well as “creating those relationships with the internal and external stakeholders.”

Having worked with the Houston Livestock Rodeo and NBA and NFL tenants, Girotti knows it is most important to “create a relationship and a partnership that are beneficial for both organizations,” she said.

When it comes to partnering with the National Western Stock Show, Girotti said she is excited to work with its CEO Wes Allison.

She looks forward to continuing “to program the campus around their events and stay true to the kind of legacy and the heritage that they bring to the campus,” she said.