NOTES BETWEEN PRINTED EDITIONS
STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, Dec. 15, 2025…..Just over a year into the job, Massachusetts Convention Center Authority CEO Marcel Vernon Sr. has resigned, departing with a severance package worth $500,000.
Vernon was unanimously selected by the MCCA board in October 2024 to lead the troubled quasi-public agency, but stepped down after roughly a year in the role.
In a statement released Friday, the MCCA Board said Vernon resigned voluntarily after a period of significant activity at the authority, which oversees convention and exhibition facilities in Boston and Springfield.
“The Authority acknowledges that in the year that he has been CEO, Mr. Vernon has been responsible for a number of extremely important achievements and advances at the Authority during a challenging time in the Authority’s history,” the board said. “Today, Mr. Vernon has decided voluntarily to tender his resignation as CEO.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Vernon will remain an employee through the end of the year to assist during the transition, though he is no longer overseeing day-to-day operations.
“During this transition period, the Board and Mr. Vernon have agreed that he will stay on as an employee through the end of the year in order for the Authority to receive the benefit of his advice,” the board said. The board said it plans to appoint an interim CEO in the near future.
In a letter to employees following a 4 p.m. Friday board meeting, directors said they ratified the separation agreement.
“This agreement was not entered into lightly, however, we believe it is in the best interest of both the MCCA and Mr. Vernon for the Authority to move forward under different leadership,” the letter said. The board added that Vernon “will no longer be overseeing day-to-day operations of the Authority.”
Vernon was appointed in October 2024 following an almost year-long search triggered by the resignation of former executive director David Gibbons. Gibbons stepped down in late 2023 after a series of disputes with the board, amid allegations of racial discrimination within the agency, an outside report on diversity and inclusion, and controversy over the handling of a redevelopment process for state-owned land in South Boston that board leaders said lacked sufficient transparency.
At the time, the board said a change in leadership would be “best” for the authority.
When the board voted 12–0 to hire Vernon in 2024, members emphasized his ties to Massachusetts and experience in state government, selecting him over a finalist with direct convention center authority experience.
Board member Ashley Groffenberger said Vernon’s “local connection” stood out, citing his experience working in Massachusetts and “connections to folks” in the state at a time when the agency needed to “rebuild trust in a lot of ways.”
Search committee co-chair Aisha Miller said, “Marcel, to me, is going to bring unity back to this Convention Center,” while other members described him as an “agent of change” capable of leading the authority through a period of transformation.
The executive director job came with a $250,000 to $320,000 salary, per a job post by contracted search firm Koya Partners.
The MCCA has undergone significant leadership and governance changes in recent years as the board has sought to respond to criticism over management practices, transparency and workplace culture. Gov. Maura Healey reshaped the board in 2023 as part of that effort.
In its letter to staff, the board acknowledged continued internal challenges.
“We are aware that the organization is managing through a period that has raised both questions and concerns across departments,” directors wrote, while saying the steps being taken around Vernon stepping down would allow the authority “to address those challenges most effectively.”
Sam Drysdale is a reporter for State House News Service and State Affairs Pro. Reach her at sdrysdale@statehousenews.com.
