We round up the latest movements from the ticketing sector and associated industries…
Ticketing company AXS Europe has announced that Jonathan Lack has been appointed to the position of head of account management. Lack has 15 years of experience within the ticketing industry, including roles at The O2 in London, Ticketmaster UK and Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio.
Most recently, Lack was the senior director of ticketing at the recently opened Fiserv Forum, which is the home of NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks.
Lack said: “I’m excited to move back home to the UK and get back into the UK ticketing industry again, it has been a long time coming and I’m looking forward to the challenges ahead, especially after our business was hit so hard during the pandemic. AXS is an impressive, fast growing company with top of the range tech – now is a great opportunity to redefine the ticket experience not only for our customers as we welcome them back to our venues, but especially for our clients.”
Venue management and entertainment company ASM Global has named Chris Bray (pictured left) as executive vice president, European operations. Bray will be responsible for all aspects of ASM Global’s European business and will be based in Manchester.
Over the past six years, Bray was most recently chief executive for sports and leisure, UK and Ireland at Sodexo, a global catering and facilities management company.
Ron Bension, president and CEO of ASM Global, said: “Chris has been responsible for a business portfolio tasked with delivering exceptional experiences at some of the most prestigious sporting and event locations across the UK such as Ascot Racecourse, Chelsea Flower Show, Brighton and Hove Albion FC, Newcastle United FC, as well as the National Gallery and other iconic day visitor experiences across the country.
“We’re confident that he will execute tremendous value creation, organic growth and new business initiatives.”
ASM Global operates venues in eight countries across Europe, including the UK, Sweden and Germany. Venues include AO Arena in Manchester, Avicii Arena, Tele2 Arena and Friends Arena in Sweden and Arena Oberhausen in Germany, which is set to become Rudolf Weber Arena from January next year.
Elsewhere and premium experiences company Legends International has appointed Michael Gandler as its first chief revenue officer.
Gandler is part of a series of recent hires at Legends, which include Martin Jennings as managing director of the UK and head of global planning, and Jens König as managing director of Central Europe. Gandler will be based in Italy where Legends International will open a new office.
“The addition of Michael to work across our international business is part of our continued investment in growing Legends International, and one that the market demanded,” said Mike Tomon, co-president and chief operating officer, Legends. “Michael brings a wealth of experience operating and driving revenue across all areas of our integrated 360º solution and his arrival will further foster Legends International’s expansion and offer another level of expertise for our clients.”
ocV!BE Sports and Entertainment has brought in Tom Alexander (pictured right) as the vice president of programming of ocV!BE in Anaheim, California. The proposed $3bn (£2.3bn/€2.7bn) mixed-use community will surround the Honda Center, and will include live entertainment venues, dining and retail offerings, as well as public amenities.
Alexander has over 25 years of artist engagement and touring experience, most recently at the City of Tacoma, Washington where he was the booking manager for the Tacoma Dome.
“As a Southern California native, I am beyond excited to come home and join an organization with such an incredible reputation for excellence and vision within the live entertainment world,” said Alexander.
English Premier League club Arsenal has hired Juliet Slot as its new chief commercial officer.
Slot has previous experience in the same role at Ascot Racecourse, where she was for eight years, having joined as the commercial director. She will take up the new role from the end of January, when current chief commercial officer Peter Silverstone leaves the club.
Slot will be responsible for the club’s commercial development and strategy, including partnerships, ticketing, retail and marketing.
Promoter and venue operator DHP Family has announced two promotions within its marketing team. Anwyn Williams and Matt Newton have become head of marketing and marketing manager, respectively.
Williams will lead the team, working on the marketing across DHP’s concert and festival roster such as the company’s arena and theatre tours working with artists like James Blunt, The Human League and Sam Fender.
Newton started at DHP Family as a marketing assistant and will now lead the marketing for the 25,000-capacity Splendour Festival in Nottingham, along with other concerts and tours.
Last week, Julian Bird announced that he was to step down as chief executive of Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre (SOLT) and UK Theatre.
Bird will leave in May next year and has been CEO of the organisations for over 11 and a half years.
You can read the full story here: TheTicketingBusiness.com.
Do you have news of an appointment that we should know about? Get in touch by emailing [email protected] and we’ll include it in our next round-up.