Four months away from the next edition of One Spark, there’s been a move at the top.
Joe Sampson, the festival’s executive director and chief operating officer, is leaving “to pursue other opportunities,” according to a Friday afternoon news release.
Shortly afterward in a phone interview, Sampson said he was staying in Jacksonville and pursuing both local and out-of-market possibilities.
“Other opportunities pop up all the time,” he said. “That’s the life of an entrepreneur.”
One Spark CEO and co-founder Elton Rivas is stepping into the role of interim director while Sampson transitions out at the end of year.
“As businesses evolve and mature, there are times when leaders of an organization come to a point when they may feel that they have done what they set out to do,” said Peter Rummell, a One Spark board member and majority financial supporter.
Sampson said he would still be supportive of the festival from behind the scenes. He agreed with Rummell’s statement that he had accomplished what he came to do. Sampson said that included growing to be a top 20 event in the country, taking the concept international — One Spark Berlin debuted Sept. 12-13 — and launching a Creator Academy.
He said the festival is on track to grow even more. “We’ve done an awful lot over the past two years,” he said.
Rummell went on to say that Sampson did a “tremendous job helping take us from the starting blocks to today.”
There will be a search for Sampson’s replacement, but a timeline will be worked on through the end of the year. That timeline could impact whether Rivas is director through the 2015 festival. The organization has 10 full-time employees.
Rivas in the release said the organization “regretfully accepts” Sampson’s resignation, but owed him thanks for his work. Rivas returned to One Spark after the KYN accelerator program he was running closed after losing its funding from Shad Khan’s investment company.