ABOUT ERIK SKINNER

Boardroom discipline. Backstage experience. Practical action.

Erik Skinner has spent more than 25 years building high-performing teams, leading organizational change, and solving complex operational problems, including VP and SVP roles at ING DIRECT, Capital One, Fifth Third Bank, and Intercontinental Exchange. He has led post-acquisition integrations, major technology rollouts, and cross-functional teams spanning operations, product strategy, and customer experience.

He also runs the Fishstock Concert Series in Door County, WI, where he applies the same discipline to show math, booking, and night-of-show execution. That combination is what he brings to independent venue owners: enterprise-level leadership, grounded in what it actually takes to run a room.

25+ YEARS

STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP

Building teams and leading change, now for independent venues.

6 SEASONS

FISHSTOCK CONCERT SERIES

Attendance up 104%, with a 46.6% margin.

MBA

CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY

Weatherhead School of Management: executive strategy and financial modeling.

ERIK's COACHING PHILOSOPHY

The “soft” parts of venue leadership drive the hardest results.

Leadership, culture, and shift accountability are often treated as secondary to booking talent and selling tickets. In live venue operations, they are everything. When front-of-house teams aren’t aligned, show-night responsibilities are unclear, or management culture works against strategy, even a sold-out room will struggle to deliver a profitable settlement.

Erik’s approach is candid and collaborative. He asks direct questions, challenges assumptions, and works alongside owners and GMs to turn what the numbers show into show-night changes that last.

Awards and Certifications

WHY ERIK COACHES

Success means more when the work matters—and live music matters.

Independent venues are cultural anchors. They’re where communities gather and where artists get their start. But running one shouldn’t mean sacrificing your quality of life to keep the doors open.

As someone who runs an independent venue himself, Erik coaches because he believes a profitable room and a balanced life don’t have to compete, and that the people who keep live music alive deserve both.

His work is grounded in integrity, creative problem-solving, and servant leadership.

The Fishstock barn in Fish Creek, WI, painted by Brian Pier

WHERE ERIK BRINGs EXPERIENCE

Strengthening the people and systems behind live performance

LEADERSHIP & CULTURE

Connecting owner vision, GM execution, and shift-level accountability so the whole team hits its financial goals.

OPERATIONS & CHANGE

Applying enterprise process design to streamline FOH teams, tighten house-nut math, and close the leaks draining margin.

FAN & ARTIST EXPERIENCE

Improving every step from door entry and bar speed to artist hospitality, so fans and artists come back.

Ready to step off the floor?

If you've built a successful room but know it's capable of more, let's talk.

In a complimentary Discovery Call, we’ll look at what’s holding your venue back and what it would take to run it without you on the floor every night.