We round up the latest movements from the ticketing sector and associated industries…
Christian D’Acuña (pictured left) has been promoted to the role of senior director of programming (UK) at The O2 in London. D’Acaña took up the position earlier this year and will continue to take the lead on programming alongside Emma Bownes, as well as joining Steve Homer’s team at AEG Presents.
D’Acuña will run the marketing and repositioning of Wolverhampton Civic Halls, which is due to reopen next year, and will also work with the team on indigo at The O2 and assist the leadership team at Eventim Apollo. He has worked at The O2 since 2012 when he joined as programming assistant.
Elsewhere and mobile-focused ticketing platform SeatGeek has announced a new board of directors of the combined company, following its business combination with RedBall Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
SeatGeek has recently welcomed Anna Baird and Melissa Selcher to the board. The duo are respectively chief revenue officer at software company Outreach and chief marketing officer at Linkedin.
Other members of SeatGeek’s board of directors include co-founder and chief executive officer Jack Groetzinger; SeatGeek co-founder Russell D’Souza; John Locke, partner at venture capital firm Accel; Steve Hefner, co-founder and CEO of travel agency Kayak; and Laurel Richie, executive leadership coach and former president of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Online ticketing marketplace Vivid Seats has appointed Riva Bakal to the new role of chief product and strategy officer, and Ted Pickus has been promoted to chief accounting officer.
Stan Chia, Vivid Seats CEO, said: “Over the past year we’ve added extensive experience to our leadership team in order to position Vivid Seats for long-term growth. As we continue to invest in talent and support our proven leaders, these promotions were natural choices.
“I have been consistently impressed by Riva and Ted’s dedication and unfailing execution of our company’s strategic vision, during their tenure. They are both talented leaders who bring a depth of experience that will allow us to continue to move our business forward and deliver shareholder value.”
Bakal has served as the senior vice-president of strategy and product at Vivid Seats since February 2021, and has also previously held the role of vice-president of strategy and corporate development since joining in 2019. Pickus has served as the vice-president of accounting at Vivid Seats since 2018 and has held a number of positions since joining in 2013.
Thomas Ovesen has started a new company, T.O.P. Entertainment. Oversen has extensive experience in the live entertainment industry, including roles such as entertainment director at Diriyah Gate Development Authority, chief operating officer at AEG Ogden Dubai Arena, and chief programming director, Dubai Arena, for AEG Ogden.
Live Nation has launched in the Philippines through the strategic acquisition of Music Management International (MMI), and has appointed MMI’s Rhiza Pascua (pictured right) in the role of managing director of the new venture.
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.