Meet the cast of Merchants Exchange Productions:

Experienced. Local. Professional. Tasteful. Super-Friendly.

Philip Spiegel

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT

Phil Spiegel is a third-generation native San Franciscan with more than a decade of executive experience in the City’s thriving hospitality industry. He oversees all sales and business operations for the Julia Morgan Ballroom, the Merchants Exchange Club, Credo Restaurant and the Nob Hill Gazette. Phil is a graduate of the University of San Francisco’s McClaren School of Business. If you spend much time in San Francisco, you’ve probably met him.

Adam Ryon

GM, MERCHANTS EXCHANGE CLUB

Adam is a Bay Area native who returned to the inviting climes of San Francisco from a successful career around the globe. He boasts a wealth of experience with companies like Jack Threads and Dwell Studio, and has conquered both New York City and Abu Dhabi in his travels. As the General Manager of the stylish Merchants Exchange Club, Adam focuses on creating an unparalleled atmosphere and a unique experience for each and every guest.

Vicki Tom

DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Vicki Tom is Director of Operations for the Julia Morgan Ballroom, the Merchants Exchange Club and Credo Restaurant. She joined Merchants Exchange Productions after 19 years at the Olympic Club in San Francisco. A graduate of SF State University, Vicki holds a B.S. in Dietetics with a graduate certificate in hotel and restaurant management. Also, in case you’re wondering, she’s a dynamo.

Kim Thornton

DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL EVENTS

Originally from Rochester, NY, Kim made a smart life decision and moved to California 15 years ago to attend the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandizing. She joined Merchants Exchange Productions in 2007 and now serves as our tactical guru for events. In her free time you’ll find her hiking throughout the Bay Area and checking out SF’s newest restaurants.

Mike Maurer

CORPORATE SALES MANAGER

Mike Maurer grew up in Berkeley, California and began his hospitality career working at some of the finest hotels in New York City. Since returning to San Francisco in 1991, Mike has focused his professional attention on bringing corporations from around the world to the City by the Bay. Mike loves sports. Like, a lot. Warriors opponents hate him, especially Austin Rivers.

Megan Rogerson

EVENT SALES MANAGER

Megan joined the Merchants Exchange team with a deep reservoir of local market knowledge; a lifetime in fact. Born and raised in San Francisco and Marin, Megan has produced more than 1,000 events during her 17-year career, most recently as Director of Events for Mezzanine & Mint Plaza. An active volunteer with organizations such as Marin CASA and the Marin YMCA, Megan enjoys running, hiking, yoga and skiing.

Walter Ryon

DIRECTOR OF AUDIO/VISUAL

Prior to joining the team at Merchants Exchange Productions, Walter Ryon spent the previous decade directing, designing, and producing theatrical events around the globe and in NYC for Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. He opened the New York University campus in Abu Dhabi, building and outfitting three new state-of-the-art theatrical venues, then came to San Francisco to manage productions for the Conservatory at American Conservatory Theater.

Kathryn Kalabokes

DIRECTOR OF WEDDINGS AND SOCIAL EVENTS

Kathryn Kalabokes joined our team after owning her own wedding and event planning company in San Francisco for 16 years, during which time she produced more than 340 weddings and events and has worked with some of the most elite wedding professionals in the world. A graduate of Dominican University and mother of two, more often than not you can find her cheering on the Giants or enjoying the local food and wine the Bay Area has to offer.

Larry Finn

CULINARY DIRECTOR

Larry Finn’s star-studded culinary career has included extended stops at legendary establishments such as Café Gray, Morimoto and Danny Meyer’s Union Square Café in New York City. Larry made the trek to California to assume the helm of Scala’s Bistro before bringing his considerable talent to the Julia Morgan Ballroom. Larry holds a B.S. degree in Food Service Management from Johnson & Wales.

Ian Silva

BEVERAGE DIRECTOR

Ian is nothing if not cosmopolitan. Peruvian-Italian by way of the Bay Area and conversant in six languages, Ian is also charging toward his Advanced Sommelier certification, which puts him in rare air. Part of the Merchants Exchange Productions family since 2010, Ian is a fan of sports, classic cars, his wife Gabriela and their dog Stewei (not in that order).

Christopher Ahr

CHEF DE CUISINE

Born in Savannah, Georgia and trained in the finest restaurants of the East Bay, Chris boasts a portfolio of large-scale event experience as broad as his own shoulders (which are super broad). He has been part of the SF Bay Area dining scene since 1999, including stays at Stanford University and Kimpton hotels.

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Join our team!

We’re always on the lookout for dedicated and passionate individuals who are striving to build their career in the hospitality industry.
If you’d like to be part of our best-in-class team, please inquire via email: [email protected].

Our Owner: Clint Reilly

When Clint Reilly purchased the landmark Merchants Exchange from Walter Shorenstein in 1995, he had a conundrum on his hands. The old Commercial Club — for nearly 100 years a key gathering place for the city’s business and financial elite — had closed its doors, leaving the expansive 15th floor of the historic building empty. Reilly faced a choice: gut the badly dilapidated space entirely to make way for additional offices, or develop an alternative hospitality use that would allow him to retain the rich legacy of the space and further augment the status of the Merchants Exchange as a key hub of San Francisco meeting and event activity.

Reilly’s investment in the building’s 15th floor — including full massive floor-to-ceiling renovations to the ballroom, its adjacent bar and lounge, lobby and the 2007 construction of a state-of-the-art commercial kitchen — transformed the historic space into one of the City’s most coveted venues: the Julia Morgan Ballroom.

Named in honor of the building’s most celebrated tenant, the Ballroom is now one of San Francisco’s most breathtaking, technologically advanced and historically important special event venues. In addition to being the setting for some of the City’s most awe-inspiring weddings, the venue has hosted a wide range of heavy-hitters, including Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, Secretaries of State Hillary Clinton, Condoleezza Rice and John Kerry, Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, First Lady Michelle Obama, entertainers from Dave Matthews and Yao Ming to Jay Leno, and business luminaries such as Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Michael Dell, Marc Benioff, Jack Dorsey, Elon Musk and many, many more.

To learn more about Clint Reilly and our combined companies, visit us at the Clint Reilly Organization.