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We round up the latest movements from the ticketing sector and associated industries\u2026 <\/p>\n
Music and live entertainment company AEG Presents has appointed Georgie Donnelly<\/b> as its first head of comedy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Donnelly\u2019s appointment is part of AEG Presents\u2019 plan to expand beyond music, placing an emphasis on the growth of live comedy. In her new role, Donnelly\u2019s first crucial job will be working on the comedy festival Just For Laughs, which will be held in London for the first time in March, at The O2 Arena.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With over a decade of experience in comedy, Donnelly has joined AEG Presents from Moment House, where she also served as head of comedy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Elsewhere, Sian Bennett<\/b> has been appointed as a partner for festival and events marketing agency, Mustard Media. Bennett is the strategy director for the company and is joining existing partners Ed Norris, Oli Hackett and Rob Masterson.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Bennett has been with the agency since 2014, where she joined as an intern before rising to strategy director. She said: \u201cI first met Ed, Rob and Oli where all good things begin\u2026 on the dance floor! To have started as an intern when Mustard Media started in 2014 and eventually become a partner is a really proud moment for me.\u201d<\/p>\n Entertainment, venue management and event strategy company ASM Global has announced that Julie Driscoll<\/b> will be the new chief executive of Olympia London.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The venue\u2019s managing director Nigel Nathan will remain in a consultancy role for three months to aid the transition. Driscoll will step down as chair of the Association of Events Organisers (AEO) to take on the new role.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI am thrilled to be joining Olympia London under the management of ASM Global \u2013 a world leader of event venues and entertainment,\u201d said Driscoll. \u201cFor 136 years Olympia London has been the home of inspirational events. In partnership with the venue\u2019s owners, Yoo Capital and Deutsche Finance International, I very much look forward to working with the wonderful Olympia London team, to position the venue as a world class destination for the next 100 years.\u201d<\/p>\n ASM Global has also revealed that Alex Merch\u00e1n<\/b> has been promoted to chief marketing officer, overseeing the company\u2019s global portfolio of 20,000 events across 350 venues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In his new role, Merch\u00e1n will be responsible for the company\u2019s branding and positioning across key areas including global partnerships, digital and CRM strategy, business development and more across the US and internationally.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Merch\u00e1n, who was most recently executive vice-president of marketing at ASM Global, said: \u201cThis is the thrill of a lifetime. he biggest sandbox in the world and the opportunity to engage with fans across entertainment, sports and business, that\u2019s what our marketing team gets to work in \u2013 with the most prestigious collection of venues on Earth. That means we know the rules of the game better than anyone else, and we play it better than anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n In the UK, ASM Global has appointed Stephen Cooper<\/b> as vice-president of food and beverage. Cooper will work alongside the venue teams in the UK to develop exciting new food and beverage solutions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Chris Bray, executive vice-president of ASM Global Europe, said: \u201cIt is fantastic to have Steve join the ASM Global team, which continues to see exciting and fast-paced growth. Steve\u2019s expertise in food and beverage, on a global-brand-scale makes him an incredibly exciting addition to the team.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFood and beverage at all of our venues is a fundamental and evolving part of the customer journey, and as it continues to adapt, grow and move with industry trends and customer behaviours, I am confident that Steve and his team will drive this critical aspect of our business forwards.\u201d<\/p>\n Ticketmaster Sport has promoted Chris Gratton<\/b> to managing director, UK.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Gratton has been with the ticketing company for over two and half years, working to move the business forward in terms of technological capabilities, building a reliable team and driving client relationships.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n He said: \u201cWe exist to provide a seamless connection between sports and their fans. The ticket is the fan\u2019s key, the stadium is their home. We connect the two.<\/p>\n \u201cWe strive to develop technology that enables our clients to engage more meaningfully with their fans as well as supporting venues with their digital transformation. For example, away ticketing makes venues 100% digital and reduces the need for home teams to print 1000s of tickets for away fans. It is a fantastic project that makes a material difference to our clients in an area that has traditionally been a drain on resources.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Do you have news of an appointment that we should know about? Get in touch by emailing <\/i>news.editor@theticketingbusiness.com<\/i><\/a> and we\u2019ll include it in our next round-up. \u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p><\/div>\n