[caption id="attachment_609609" align="alignleft" width="320"]
Darrell Landry, chief administration officer and general counsel for Milwaukee World Festival Inc.[/caption]
Milwaukee World Festival Inc., the nonprofit operator of
Summerfest, has hired legal executive
Darrell Landry as its new chief administrative officer and general counsel.
With more than two decades of experience, Landry most recently served as global general counsel at
Cielo, a global talent acquisition and management firm based in Wauwatosa. Beginning his new role on March 31, Landry will manage MWF's legal department, including human resources, insurance and risk management as well as contract management. He will also serve on the executive management team of MWF, overseeing all legal and business affairs, policy and compliance matters, according to a news release Wednesday.
"We are thrilled to welcome Darrell to the MWF team," said
Sarah Pancheri, president and CEO of Milwaukee World Festival. "His extensive legal expertise, paired with his valuable human resources knowledge, will be instrumental in strengthening our organization and elevating our mission."
Landry joined Cielo in 2020 as general counsel-Americas and was named global general counsel in 2022. He's credited with establishing and growing the firm’s North American legal functions along with management of equity governance. Prior to that, Landry spent six years as general counsel and corporate secretary at Waukesha-based
KHS USA and held other corporate counsel positions at Milwaukee-based
Brady Corp., the Wauwatosa-based
Medical College of Wisconsin, and
GE HealthCare. He began his law career as an associate after graduating from Tulane University Law School in 1994. He also earned an MBA from the University of Houston.
"I am excited to join the team at MWF and contribute to an organization that hosts numerous events including Summerfest, concerts, and ethnic and cultural festivals in Milwaukee, creating a lasting impact on our community,” said Landry in a statement. “I look forward to contributing my skills and experience, while working closely together with the leadership team and the MWF Board of Directors, to advance the mission and vision for MWF.”
Landry is admitted to the State Bar of Wisconsin; he's served as lecturer at Marquette University's business school, on the board of directors for the State Bar of Wisconsin-Health Care Section and as a member of the General Counsel Steering Committee for the University of Wisconsin E-Business Consortium.
MWF's dual chief administrative officer-general counsel role was previously held by
Mary Schanning, who left the organization in April 2024 to return to city government as deputy city attorney under Milwaukee city attorney Evan Goyke. Schanning served as deputy city attorney from April 2016 to Feburary 2021 and was
hired by MWF in late 2021.
