Connecting the global ticketing ecosystem together

Georgia Bekyra is the Senior Ticketing Manager for Everton Football Club since August 2021. Georgia is looking after all things ticketing across both Goodison Park and the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, which is currently under construction.

Georgia started her career in sports with the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Athens 2004, in tennis, before moving to Panathinaikos Football Club, where she enjoyed 7 wonderful years, where she fell in love with ticketing. Next, her career brought her over to the UK for British Athletics, as Head of Ticketing Operations, where she delivered the London 2017 IAAF and World Paras Championships, the 2018 World Indoor Championships in Birmingham and the 2019 European Indoor Championships in Glasgow – 4 major international events in 18 months. Last stop before Everton FC was at Edgbaston for a short but very impactful period, delivering pilot events after covid and the first matches for The Hundred.
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The Shubert Ticketing team supports the journey from the patron’s initial touch points with a show through attendance at the theatre, driven by in-house technology, strategic technological partnerships and sales channels.  This powerful combination supports The Shubert Organization’s 25 theatrical stages and 30 additional venues. The team consists of David Andrews, SVP Ticketing, Eric Schwartz, Director Ticketing Operations, and Kyle Wright, Director Digital Projects. Together, they drive value through optimized user experiences, top-shelf customer service, a robust transaction infrastructure, intensive audience demographics and insightful yield management.  With many years’ experience in Sales, Marketing, Tech and Finance, as well as an on-stage performance or two, the team strives to deliver a seamless experience to Shubert’s nearly six million patrons each year.

Samantha began her career in the cultural sector working as a Theatre Administrator in a regional theatre in Southampton. Since then Samantha has worked in Australia as the Operations Manager at the state-of-the-art The Melbourne Theatre Company and the Front of House Manager at the National Gallery of Victoria. She joined the Royal Opera House in London 4 years ago as a Senior Front of House Manager and has moved up to be Head of Visitor Experience.

Adam is an experienced commercial leader with a background in catering and venue operations that led on to roles focussed on sales functions, including hospitality, sponsorship & partnerships, and broader revenue generation.

He has a wide range of experiences across the sports and entertainment industries for both stadia and arenas and, in his current role as Commercial Director for The O2 Arena, is responsible for a number of key commercial revenue streams, including food and drink, premium seats, merchandise, attractions, parking and The O2 app.

In 2020 Adam took on responsibility for ticketing at the world’s no 1 music venue and has overseen the digitisation of more than 2 million tickets a year, culminating in the award of the coveted ‘Live Music Innovation of the Year’ at the 2022 Music Week Awards.

Adam was part of a core team working on plans for the return of live events in light of the Covid-19 global pandemic and has steered the business back to record profitability.

In addition, he led on the creation of a venue Green Team and roll out of the ‘Good Vibes All Round’ programme at The O2 encompassing Sustainability, Community, Charity and Accessibility. He continues to lead this for the arena alongside the key commercial functions of his role.

Co-Founder of Tessitura Network and CEO from company inception until stepped down in planned transition in 2021. Grew the company from inception to over 725 organizations using Tessitura in ten countries, 230 Tessitura Network team members, created an ecosystem of partners, and activated a worldwide community sharing ideas and best practices.  Technology and functionality advancements were made every year, and multiple products and services added .  Currently doing Advisory and Board work in this industry and others.  Specialty areas include Business Development / Start-Ups / Alliances / Leadership / Strategy / Acquisitions & Divestitures / Negotiations.  Prior experience as Chief Financial and Strategy Officer for an internet company IPO, and leadership in a public holding company carrying out and operating dozens of acquisitions. MBA and CPA.

I’m a seasoned event professional with over 15 years of experience in Event & Hospitality Management, Event Operations, and Ticketing & Customer Engagement at BT Murrayfield, Scotland’s largest stadium. I’m passionate about bringing a holistic, strategic-level approach to my work and love being part of the team that delivers some of the UK’s largest sporting events, football and concerts.

My specialties include ticket strategy, income generation, change management, project management, and people management.
My recent experience of leading the project to move Scottish Rugby’s ticket delivery to an app based solution has proven to be transformational for Scottish Rugby and a huge professional achievement. While I’m focused on achieving results, I’m also known for my positive energy and enthusiasm. I’m passionate about building strong work relationships and bringing my best to everything I do.

Having studied Drama at the University of Exeter, Sophie moved to London and worked in various roles across the industry, including as a producer, director, company manager, theatrical agent, and stage manager, while also concurrently working in ATG’s West End box offices. She then settled at The Old Vic, where she worked for 12 years, working most recently as the Head of Box Office. She was honoured by being nominated twice as Box Office Manager of the Year by SOBOM in 2017 and 2018. She has worked for Sonia Friedman Productions as Sales and Ticketing Director for the last 18 months, looking after a wide-range of West End and touring productions such as The Book of Mormon, To Kill A Mockingbird, Jerusalem, Dreamgirls UK tour, Leopoldstadt and Oklahoma!

Shah-Zeib comes from a tourism and hospitality background after successfully running a number of successful businesses in Austria.
An exchange term abroad during his business undergraduate course in Vienna quickly resulted in Shah-Zeib finding his new home – in Manchester.
From there the journey only got better, where in the iconic Maracanã during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil, Shah-Zeib fell in love with the world of ticketing.

What followed on from there:
·        MBA Football Industries, University of Liverpool, 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia, FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup France 2018, FIFA Women’s World Cup France 2019 and many more

Having gathered global ticketing experiences as a service provider and rightsholder, Shah-Zeib’s journey has taken him to a different shaped ball game to the Rugby League World Cup 2021.
At RLWC2021, he is the Head of Ticketing, tasked with the delivery of the most inclusive edition of the tournament staging the men’s, women’s and wheelchair tournaments across several iconic venues in England.
With the postponement of the tournament now confirmed Shah will also take on the role of dealing with the refunds process as a whole while still building towards the biggest and best RLWC ever in 2022.

Greg Loewen is the CEO of Digonex – the leading provider of automated dynamic pricing solutions in the live entertainment and attractions sectors.  Greg has been CEO since 2014 during which time the company has achieved rapid growth and developed a robust network of ticketing partnerships.
Greg is also actively involved in his local arts community, currently serving as the Board Chair of the Indianapolis Symphony.

Prior to leading Digonex, Greg held a variety of leadership roles in the North American media industry.  He is a graduate of Queen’s University (Kingston, Canada) and holds an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Katy Raines MA MBA is regarded as one of the UK’s leading consultants on data-driven strategy for Cultural Organisations. She has developed and led research and implementation programmes for large and middle scale organizations throughout the UK and Europe.

During Covid-19 she developed and delivered the UK’s largest collaborative dataset of cultural attenders’ attitudes to returning to events, beginning with After-The- Interval, and working with over 800 organisations – capturing over ½ million responses from attenders.

Her current clients include the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Coventry City of Culture, UK Sport, Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games and Historic England.
www.indigo-ltd.com
@katyraines
@indigoltd

The Shubert Ticketing team supports the journey from the patron’s initial touch points with a show through attendance at the theatre, driven by in-house technology, strategic technological partnerships and sales channels.  This powerful combination supports The Shubert Organization’s 25 theatrical stages and 30 additional venues. The team consists of David Andrews, SVP Ticketing, Eric Schwartz, Director Ticketing Operations, and Kyle Wright, Director Digital Projects. Together, they drive value through optimized user experiences, top-shelf customer service, a robust transaction infrastructure, intensive audience demographics and insightful yield management.  With many years’ experience in Sales, Marketing, Tech and Finance, as well as an on-stage performance or two, the team strives to deliver a seamless experience to Shubert’s nearly six million patrons each year.

Chris has been at the forefront of music data for the past decade and is passionate about empowering people with data. He is the founder of FastForward data consultancy and the FastForward music conference. He is also the Chief Economist for UK trade body LIVE, representing the UK live music industry. Chris previously worked for EMI Music, Universal, Sony, The O2 Arena, LW Theatres and Hipgnosis Music.

My name is Cat Nunes and I have been working in Museums for over 12 years. I started my career as a Visitor Assistant at the Natural History Museum and progressed from there. During my time at the NHM I was part of several important projects such at the implementation of a CRM and Ticketing System, Virtual Reality collaboration with Sir David Attenborough, building and managing a temporary Theatre Stage for Wider Earth play about Charles Darwin and was part of the Wildlife Photography of the year project team for many years.

Currently I am working as a Ticketing and Insights Manager for The Postal Museum, where I am playing an integral role in the implementation of a new ticketing and CRM system to help ensure that visitors have the best possible experience. Part of my role is also to provide valuable insight into visitor behaviour and preferences so that the Museum can make adequate decisions.

Mark founded Music Venue Trust in 2014, an award-winning charity which works to protect, secure and improve Grassroots Music Venues across the UK. MVT represents over 900 venues and has campaigned to change laws and policies, to gain greater recognition for the vital work GMVs do and make them more sustainable. Mark has co-owned Tunbridge Wells Forum for over 30 years, spent 20 years as CEO of the award-winning music charity Rhythmix and owns Outstanding Music, a 360-degree music company. Mark is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a regular speaker at international conferences and was NME’s Person of the Year in 2020.

An established sports industry CEO for over ten years now, Daniel Gidney launched the first ever cricket bond as part of an innovative £12m fundraising to develop and operate a new 150 bedroom Hilton hotel, which will open summer 2017. Daniel’s time at LCCC has generated record profits and the securing of the largest ever naming rights in First Class Cricket, with Emirates. He also secured ECB International matches, including an Ashes Test and a World Cup semi-final in 2019. Daniel was also the 2011 Midlands Business Person of the Year, and the 2014 Trafford Business Person of the Year.

Chris King is the Ticket Operations Manager for Edinburgh Rugby, representing the Scottish capital in the United Rugby Championship and Heineken Champions Cup. As the Ticket Operations Manager, Chris is responsible for all things ticketing at DAM Health Stadium, at BT Murrayfield for the 1872 Cup, and leading on ticketing strategy for the club.

Prior to coming to Edinburgh Rugby, Chris held positions in strategy consulting, the music industry with Paravel Management, a Nashville-based artist management company and record label, and with the Manchester Monarchs of the American Hockey League. Chris holds a BSc in Sport Management from the University of Tennessee – Knoxville and an MBA from the University of Strathclyde.

Will operates as Digital Marketing Manager at IMG Media’s Digital Arm: Seven League. He is a key component of the Rugby League Embed Team, focussing on the digital transformation of the sport to maximise its commercial potential for long-term growth, as well as building deeper relationships with core supporters and new audiences.

Previously, Will worked within DTC and Brand Marketing at Red Bull’s Global Headquarters in Austria, where he delivered large-scale digital transformation projects across Web-Topics, NLP Chatbot Technologies, and Global Activation Accessibility Plans, while engaging local markets with product launches and brand communication strategies.

With prior experience across a wide variety of industries: renewable energy at GE Power; fashion at Debenhams; and medical imaging at GE Healthcare, Will is now reacquainting himself with the fast-moving sports industry, after successful stints at Huddersfield Town Football Club in the EFL Championship and English Premier League.

Ticketing for me started at Way Ahead (See Tickets) in ’97, before relocating to Ticketmaster’s Account Management team in Manchester in 2004 to lead on the biggest UK stadium tours and festivals where, after 15 years in Music, it was time to change direction.

2012 offered a switch to Sport, starting with Euro2012 (Poland/Ukraine), moving to international tournaments and various UK sports teams before settling into sports governance with the Rugby Football League. In 2022 RFL and IMG signed a 12 year strategic partnership tasked with reimagining Rugby League – with an aggregated Ticketing operation being a primary focus for the project.

Phil Lofthouse is leading on the development of the new UK-wide access scheme, which is being developed by Arts Council England in conjunction with Arts Council Northern Ireland, Arts Council Wales, the BFI, and Creative Scotland. Phil is the Tech Lead for the project making sure the new scheme is using the right digital tools to best facilitate relationships between creative and cultural organisations and their customers. Previously Phil worked at Spektrix, most recently as Client Operations Lead, working out of their New York Office to support arts organisations across North America before returning to the UK to become the ticketing and CRM specialist for the Digital Culture Network.

Tim Chambers is a Mentor, Advisor and Consultant. He currently works with a number of organisations seeking to enter, redefine or expand their operations within the live entertainment and ticketing sectors, advising on corporate development strategies and directing transactions. Tim also has a number of advisory posts including NED roles with various start-ups and emerging companies.

Robin has specialised in using data and digital systems to help transform organisations across numerous sectors for more than two decades. Robin has held executive leadership positions in and provided strategic consulting to a range of performing arts organisations and visitor attractions in the areas of organisational strategy, marketing, audience development, visitor experience, and operations. He is a trustee of Newcastle’s Live Theatre.

At the Association for Cultural Enterprises, Robin founded the Cultural Enterprises Academy, an online learning environment for people leading and working in commercial and revenue-generating functions across the culture, heritage, visitor attractions and arts sectors in the UK and Europe with more than 5,000 enrolments in its first year.
Previously Robin led digital transformation for organisations including the National Trust, The Royal Society, and the University of Westminster. He was a digital campaigns strategist for a national political party and began his career as a journalist and commissioning editor.

After several years in the payments industry, Josh knows a thing or two about showcasing the best solutions. Supporting businesses in innovating and enhancing their customer experience is what excites him most and he loves playing a part in kickstarting these game-changing journeys. Away from work Josh’s previous stint as a professional golfer gets him back on the course whenever he can.

Joe Calnan is Partnership Director at Cover Genius, the insurtech for embedded protection that protects the global customers of the world’s largest digital companies including Amazon, Booking Holdings, eBay and Ryanair.

Cover Genius recently expanded its reach in the Live Entertainment Ticketing market by acquiring Booking Protect, the leading specialist in embedded ticket protection for ticket sellers, platforms and live event companies such as Moshtix, Oztix, Seetickets, Seat Geek, Tessitura and Secutix.

In his role, Joe is responsible for leading and executing Live Entertainment Ticketing partnerships across key regions globally. Prior to Cover Genius, Joe held leadership positions at AXS, a global industry leader in ticketing and data solutions, spearheading partnerships and strategy. He holds a Bachelors in Economics and Masters in Finance

Delivering innovation, scalable solutions and partnerships is now the key to success for APT SKIDATA and our customers.

End to end customer experience with one pass / ticket for all access and services is our focus. With access, eticketing, e charging and parking under one roof this is an achievable goal for all venues.
Jeff’s experience bridges WiFi solutions, apps, beacons, locations services and software integration as well a deep understanding of the stadium/venue landscape.

Hugh Gledhill leads the marketing for Layered Reality experiences. He’s responsible for growing ticket sales via growth and performance marketing, demand management/dynamic pricing, and website optimisation. He has over 20 years experience growing ticket sales 30-60% for music, theatre and innovative entertainment events using data driven approaches.

I’m the UK Sales & Ticketing Director for Global Creatures, the producers of the spectacular Moulin Rouge! The Musical.
I have been working in the West End for six years and in that time, I’ve been lucky to work on some wonderful shows. Previously I worked for Immersive Everywhere managing the sales and ticketing strategies on productions of The Great Gatsby, Peaky Blinders – The Rise Doctor Who: Time Fracture, Amelie and The Choir of Man.

Previously I worked for AKA Promotions where I managed the sales strategy for numerous shows including Tina! The Tina Turner Musical and War Horse.

James is Product Leader and Co-Founder at Tixserve, a Business-to-Business, Software-as-a-Service, white-label, digital ticket delivery platform for rights owners/ticket sellers in the global entertainment and sports sectors. With a background in delivering ground-breaking solutions in the payments and mobile airtime distribution sectors, James and co-founder Patrick saw an opportunity to add value to the ticketing industry with a market-led, next-generation, ‘last mile’ digital solution. The Tixserve mobile-based, patented technology enables effective personalised security, public health protocol compliance and access control to events, preventing unauthorised ticket exchange/resale and fraud while greatly enhancing the customer experience and supporting the development of new data-driven digital marketing and commerce partnerships.

Francis Casado is one of the founders of Mobile Media Content – 3D Digital Venue and is currently serving as Head of Business Development. Prior to founding MMC- 3D Digital Venue, that revolutionized Interactive Digital Venue Management for Sports and Entertainment Venue Industry, Francis made his career around the beneficial application of 3D Technology and Virtual Reality for various sectors. A true entrepreneur, Francis’s previous time at Barcelona Media was primarily focused as a product manager responsible for developing innovative 3D solutions for use in construction of new urban developments by Barcelona Smart City Council.

Eike Humpert (31) is working in club football for eleven consecutive years. After finishing his degree in Sports Business Management in Lincoln, UK, he started his professional career in Marketing and Sales for the East Berlin Football Club 1. FC Union Berlin. After occupying positions in Marketing, CRM and Merchandising/E-Commerce he was responsible for the business development department with emphasis on IT, Multimedia, CRM/ERP, E-Commerce, BI and Organisational Development. Joining VfL Wolfsburg in April 2019 as Head of Digitalisation his department is responsible for the digital and innovation strategy of the G

Jeanene graduated from University of California, Los Angeles with a degree in Film & Television. After working in the industry for several years, she quickly shifted her focus to sports and entertainment venues. With over 20 years of ticketing experience, Jeanene quickly found her niche within the industry after assisting with the transition for the Los Angeles Philharmonic from the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion to the Walt Disney Concert Hall. She has managed over nine venue/stadium transitions and openings, most recently Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego. Others include, DRV PNK Stadium for Inter Miami CF, U.S. Bank Stadium for the Minnesota Vikings and Allianz Field for Minnesota United FC.

Cameron Hoy, Managing Director of Ticketek, is a highly respected industry leader with three decades of senior level experience across technology, e-commerce, media and entertainment. Joining Ticketek Australia as Director of Sales and Marketing in 2007, Cameron became Managing Director in 2010. Cameron now leads a global ticketing business operating across Australia, New Zealand, the Asia Pacific and the United Kingdom. Cameron was instrumental in establishing TEG’s Ovation business which provides Sporting Organisations, Venues, Promoters and Producers, with a single destination for analytics, data science, research, personalisation and advanced digital marketing. His passion for building high performing teams is reflective of a track record of achieving growth in highly competitive markets and of delivering innovative tech solutions from concept through to market.

Une Marija Jurkstaite is Head of Experience for YTL Arena Bristol – currently developed 365-entertainment complex with interlinking facilities for live music, sport, exhibitions, conferences, film, and much more.

Une specialises in customer experience design, marketing, ticket sales and community growth activities. She will play a pivotal role in growing the YTL Arena fan database and ensuring each event sells to its targeted full capacity and delivers world-class fan experience across all touchpoints.

Une joined the YTL Arena in 2021 from her previous role as Chief Business Officer for 20,000-capacity Zalgiris Arena and Zalgiris Basketball Club where she was leading business growth activities, digital transformation, and innovation projects. During 8 years in the organisation, she developed a track record for driving revenues, fan growth and creating a “sell-out” culture at the venue.

Kyle is an award-winning live entertainment Marketing and Partnerships specialist with 20 years of experience in delivering world-class, strategic leadership in the field of marketing, digital, ticketing and brand partnerships. Kyle has been responsible for the curation of innovative and industry-leading campaigns for Rhythm and Vines since 2015, as well as managing the significant growth of the festival’s brand partnerships. During this time, he also co-founded one of New Zealand’s leading tour and event promotion companies Endeavour Live.

Kyle’s current role is Head of Marketing for Live Nation Festivals in New Zealand, overlooking the brand and growth of Live Nation’s portfolio of festivals in Aotearoa, including Rhythm and Vines, Golden Run Music Festivals and more.

Zac started Tixel with his co-founder Jason Webb in early 2018 after experiencing ticket fraud at a Tame Impala concert. His career expertise spans marketing, engineering, risk mitigation and loss prevention and today, as CEO, he leads a team of passionate music and technology fanatics focused on creating an honest, easy, and trusted place for fans to buy and sell tickets to their favourite shows.

Ian is the Owner and Founder of TheTicketingBusiness Forum and its news channel TheTicketingBusiness.com – both presented by his Xperiology events and marketing agency. His working life began in sports events management (including Formula 1, horse racing and Wimbledon) before pursuing an award-winning career in B2B magazine publishing. He has co-launched and edited numerous B2B publications and meetings, ranging from energy and industrial processes through to airport design and Intelligent Transportation Systems. He has also founded many of the sports sector’s most respected publications and news sources – including Stadia magazine, TheStadiumBusiness.com and TheStadiumBusiness Summit. In his downtime from family and worklife, he takes his dogs on the Downs, rides his (motor)bikes and treks up the occasional mountain.