The owner-operator of a high-profile cluster of Cobb-based meeting, performing and shopping venues is getting new leadership.

The Cobb-Marietta Coliseum and Exhibit Hall Authority has announced the hiring of Charles Beirne as general manager and CEO.

Beirne will have administrative oversight of the Cobb Galleria Centre, Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Galleria Specialty Shops and the ArtsBridge Foundation.

He’s also being tasked with promoting the strategic growth of all four.

Authority Chairman Jerry Nix says Beirne brings more than a quarter-century of venue management experience to the table, including a background in renovation and expansion projects. He says that will come in handy as the Galleria Centre undergoes a makeover in 2025.

Beirne will join the local authority from Broward County, Florida where he oversaw day-to-day operations of the convention center there, as well as an ongoing $1.4 billion facility expansion.

He replaces Michele Swann, who’s stepping down as authority manager and CEO after almost 30 years at the helm.

About the Galleria Centre complex

The Galleria Centre is a convention center and shopping complex located in the Cumberland Community Improvement District (CCID) on Cobb Parkway.

The Galleria Centre opened on January 15, 1993, and was an outcome of the same economic factors that led to the formation of CCID, including the continuing movement of economic development to the edges of the City of Atlanta, and the construction of I-75 and I-285.

Several of the individuals who spearheaded the CCID were also instrumental in creating the Galleria Centre, most prominently developer John Williams.

The Cobb-Marietta Coliseum & Exhibit Hall Authority owns and operates the complex. 

The Authority also manages several sister organizations, including Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, ArtsBridge Foundation, and Galleria Specialty Shops.

The complex will be undergoing significant renovation and expansion beginning in 2025.

Groundbreaking is scheduled for the fall of 2025, and the project is expected to be completed by early 2027.

The plans outlined in a press release announcing the work include:

• Demolition of Galleria Specialty Shops and 2nd-floor meeting rooms;​
• Creating an exciting new, 2-story grand entryway, a new junior ballroom to complement the existing John. A Williams ballroom, two unique outdoor event courtyards and gardens with natural lighting penetrating interior conference room spaces, and new connected parking​ with covered, all-weather access into the expanded facility;
• Addition of 13,000 square feet of state-of-the-art meeting space with enhanced graphics and technology​; and
• Extensive renovation and facelift of existing convention space, concourse, rotunda and ballroom.