Superheroes, flashy cars, and show dogs: One CEO has to make room for them all

Joyce Leveston, CEO of New York City's Javits Center, started her career answering phones.

Javits Center Joyce Leveston, the Javits Center's first female CEO, started her career as a telephone operator.

She once vetoed an exhibitor's plan to lower Michael Jackson from a ballroom ceiling — a lesson in saying no.

Leveston's ascension offers a playbook for career advancement.

On any given week, the halls of New York City's Javits Center might belong to comic-book devotees dressed as superheroes, carmakers unveiling their newest models, or dog lovers sizing up dozens of breeds.

Then the booths come down, the floors are cleaned, and the sprawling, 3.4 million-square-foot Manhattan convention center starts transforming for the next crowd.

Joyce Leveston, an events-industry veteran from Cincinnati, is responsible for making sure it all goes smoothly.

As CEO of the Jacob K.

Javits Convention Center, she oversees about 145 events a year and more than 3,000 employees, from electricians and forklift drivers to accountants and salespeople.

More than 11% have worked there for over 20 years, and some are related to each other.

Leveston, 61, landed the role in March 2025, becoming the first woman leader of the organization, which celebrated its 40th anniversary this month and has played an important role in New York history.

It served as a base of operations after 9/11, supported relief efforts after Hurricane Sandy, and became a 2,500-bed emergency field hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Employee No.

92 Leveston's path into the convention world began in the late 1980s, when she was a college student and Navy wife living in San Diego.