Blake SmithVirgin Hotels, the lifestyle hotel brand by Richard Branson, announces the expansion of Blake Smith’s role from Director of Entertainment at Virgin Hotels Chicago to the brand’s first Executive Director of Entertainment. This newly-created role demonstrates Virgin Hotels’ continued dedication to offering entertainment programming that excites guests and locals alike. Mr Smith will oversee entertainment initiatives brand-wide, including facilitating partnerships, booking talent for the various venues at upcoming Virgin Hotels, and organizing major music activations. Mr Smith currently leads entertainment for Virgin Hotels Chicago, where he has organized several parties and events tied to the Pitchfork and Lollapalooza music festivals, and has booked nationally known artists like Questlove and Mayer Hawthorne for hotel performances. To date, Mr Smith has brought over 400 bands and musical acts to the Virgin Hotel’s two venues, Upstairs and Cerise. Mr Smith will remain in Chicago for now, continuing to grow the program locally as Virgin Hotels moves closer to opening several new properties in the coming years.Mr Smith brings over a decade of experience in music programming and recording to his role at Virgin. He previously was an artist at three different major labels: Polygram, Island Def Jam and EMI. As a writer for Universal, he contributed music to several well-known films and TV shows including Charlie’s Angels, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and CSI:NY. Most recently, Mr Smith served as Global Marketing Director of Hard Rock International.