A longtime Summerfest executive who helped lead $150 million in improvements over the past 15 years is retiring

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Frank Nicotera, longtime Summerfest general counsel and chief administrative officer, is retiring.

A longtime Summerfest executive who helped lead $150 million in improvements over the past 15 years is retiring.

Frank Nicotera, general counsel and chief administrative officer for Milwaukee World Festival Inc., the nonprofit corporation which operates Summerfest, will leave the organization at the end of December.

Nicotera has been at Summerfest since 2006 and established its first in-house legal department.

He's played a big role in the festival's growth, said Don Smiley, president and chief executive officer.

"He's contributed so much to the organization," Smiley said in announcing Nicotera's retirement at a Thursday board meeting.

Nicotera's duties included presiding over the 2010 long-term lease extension from the city of Maier Festival Park, which hosts Summerfest, ethnic festivals and other events.

He also helped secure both public and private financing for such park improvements as the BMO Harris Pavilion and the newly renovated American Family Insurance Amphitheater.

"This has been a great experience," Nicotera told board members.

"This was my dream job. It combined my two passions: law and music," said Nicotera, a part-time professional musician.

Nicotera's successor will be announced soon, Smiley said.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.