Wisconsin Center CEO Clears Out Office Amid Closed-Door Board Talks

Marty Brooks at the 2024 opening of the Baird Center. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.

The saga surrounding CEO Marty Brooks‘ employment status with the Wisconsin Center District took a decisive turn this week.

Brooks, who has been the subject of several closed-session discussions, cleared out his office, according to a letter sent to the district board by one of the district’s longtime employees.

“I sit just feet away from our CEO, and I watched him clean out his office without a word he could share with me,” wrote Robin Pitts, the district’s administrative services manager and executive assistant to the president and CEO, in a letter obtained by Urban Milwaukee.

The letter, addressed to the Wisconsin Center District board of directors, offers the clearest indication yet that Brooks’ departure may be imminent. The board has held four closed-session meetings regarding Brooks since early May, including a one-hour meeting last week.

Multiple sources previously told Urban Milwaukee they expected the matter to be resolved within weeks, with Brooks leaving the organization that operates the Baird Center, UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena and Miller High Life Theatre.

Asked whether Brooks had cleaned out his office, a Wisconsin Center District spokesperson did not directly answer the question.

“Marty is still CEO of the Wisconsin Center District,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “Because this involves confidential personnel and governance matters, we are not in a position to comment further at this time.

“If there is information the Wisconsin Center District Board is prepared to share publicly, we will do so at the appropriate time.”

An attorney representing Brooks did not respond to a request for comment.

Pitts’ letter also describes growing frustration among employees who have received little information while media reports and board discussions continue.

“What we are experiencing is a complete absence of internal communication, while media reports, some appearing to include comments from board members, continue to circulate,” Pitts wrote. “That is how your employees have been learning about the possible future of the organization they show up for every day.”

She said employees have been left confused by recent developments and that morale is deteriorating.

“Colleagues have stopped in their tracks, confused and with nowhere to turn,” Pitts wrote.

The employee said the district’s reputation was built by staff members who believed in its leadership and culture, but that the current situation has taken a toll.

“Watching that legacy be overshadowed by the media stories, while we remain uninformed and unacknowledged, is hurtful. Morale is suffering,” Pitts wrote. “The good work we continue to do every day deserves better than the environment we are currently being asked to work in.”

Pitts asked the board to provide employees with timely updates on the leadership situation, establish a point of contact for questions and concerns and commit to communicating directly with staff before major developments become public.

Brooks first became embroiled in controversy last year after Common Council President José G. Pérez, who serves on the WCD board, filed a police report alleging Brooks pinched his buttocks during a November fundraiser. Brooks denied the allegation, and prosecutors declined to file charges.

Then the board, according to sources, began discussing Brooks’ handling of a $145,000 consultant study commissioned last year that recommended pursuing a convention center hotel project. An investigation, according to those familiar with it, has revealed additional areas of concern that predate Brooks’ May 2025 study announcement.

Brooks has maintained that the outcome of the study was not predetermined. Several board members have publicly challenged that assertion. Downtown Alderman Robert Bauman called the report “a waste of money,” Northwestern Mutual vice president Grady Crosby said the study was “kind of thrust upon us,” and Marcus Corp. CEO Greg Marcus said, “What I asked for was a strategic plan, not a hotel pitch.”

Brooks, 69, has led the Wisconsin Center District since 2018 and oversaw completion of the district’s $456 million Baird Center expansion, which opened in 2024.

Brooks’ latest employment agreement, approved in 2025, could complicate any effort to remove him. The three-year contract provides for a base salary that rises to $445,000 annually and includes eligibility for performance bonuses, a vehicle allowance, a retention award and a market adjustment payment.

If Brooks is terminated for cause, including dishonesty, misrepresentation or fraud, the district is required to provide 30 days notice and would owe no severance. But if he is terminated without cause, the contract entitles him to six months of severance pay, a provision that sources say has been a factor in the board’s discussions.

No additional board meetings have been announced.