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Appointments round-up: Live Nation, SeatGeek and more

Live Nation Entertainment has named former PepsiCo executive Nicole Portwood as its first chief brand officer.

Portwood (pictured left) is tasked with further enhancing the Live Nation brand across all channels by exploring new opportunities that develop deeper relationships with both artists and fans worldwide.

Portwood most recently served as vice president of marketing for Mountain Dew and PepsiCo’s flavoured soft drink portfolio. She previously held the position of vice president and chief marketing officer at Tito’s Handmade Vodka.

“We look forward to the new opportunities and growth Nicole will help shape, from onsite experiences to developing new digital content offerings such as NFTs or membership options,” said Michael Rapino, president and chief executive of Live Nation.

Portwood said: “With the return of live events, this is such an exciting moment for the company and in culture more broadly, and I cannot wait for what’s ahead.”

Meanwhile, Russ Tannen, formerly chief revenue officer of Dice, has been promoted to president of the company and will relocate to New York to take up his new role.

Tannen, a founder member of the ticketing firm’s team, now oversees the Dice’s second headquarters in New York.

“We’re building our second HQ in New York and investing heavily in North America to bring fans the most amazing events at the best venues with zero hassle,” said Phil Hutcheon, founder and chief executive of Dice. “The world is about to experience the biggest growth in live entertainment in history and Dice is backing the best partners to do so.”

SeatGeek has appointed Greg Warden as its vice president of engineering.

Warden, previously an executive at blockchain technology analysis company Chainalysis, will lead SeatGeek’s enterprise engineering teams. SeatGeek said Warden has a vision of turning the box office into a highly functional software as a service function for rights holders, artists, teams, and venues.

“We brought Greg on because of his experience and expertise disrupting old enterprise software,” said Brian Murphy, SeatGeek’s chief technology officer. “Greg will help us on our mission to push the old ways of ticketing into the 21st century as live events ramp up again.”

Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which owns’s Lord’s cricket ground, has appointed Mahdi Choudhury (pictured centre) as assistant secretary (membership). The role includes leadership of the ticketing department, as well as community development and heritage and collections.

Choudhury’s experience includes acting as chief executive at the British Athletes Commission (BAC), an independent director for the European Rugby League Federation, and lawyer for the British Olympic Association.

Choudhury said: “As a lifelong cricket fan, I am delighted to be joining MCC to work with the team and membership in what is an exciting chapter in its history.

“I look forward to contributing to the ongoing development of the club’s ambitious strategy and continuing to deliver exceptional services for its members.”

GoFan, the digital ticketing solution for high school events, has promoted Stuart Granger to chief operating officer and added David Greiff (pictured right) as chief revenue officer.

Granger, who has held senior positions in the tech industry in a career spanning more than 30 years, is now responsible for all product, platform and service operations of the company. He had held the position of GoFan’s chief technology officer since January of 2020.

As CRO, Greiff, previously head of sales at insurance firm Bold Penguin, will lead all GoFan’s sales, customer success and marketing functions. He will also be responsible for driving growth, and aligning all revenue-generating departments to strengthen and build strategic partnerships.  

BJ Pilling, GoFan’s chief executive, said: “To continue executing against our growth plans, we are committed to adding top talent to the GoFan leadership team. Stuart and Daves’ background and capabilities exemplify this strategy.”

Tixxy, the Ohio-based predictive concert recommendation service, has made a series of changes in its top team, including Steve Peele as head of growth.

Peele most recently served as a marketing director at US-based software development firm Nexient, leading its marketing strategy through the company’s recent acquisition by NTT.

Cody Grup has become Tixxy’s head of promoter and venue partnerships after more than 15 years as a booking agent and talent buyer for a number of agencies throughout the US.

Tixxy has also recruited Randy Nichols, founder and managing director of Force Media Management, as an advisor.

Peele said: “Having been part of the software and startup community for the entirety of my career, executed two successful exits, and generally drawn toward all things technology, joining CEO Eron Bucciarelli and the Tixxy team was an absolute no-brainer. Outside of the fact that I’m a diehard musician and music fan, Eron’s vision, industry knowledge, and track record speaks for itself.

“What is most intriguing for me is how I can help guide our growth engine in a scalable way by bringing my SaaS marketing experience to a product that has a natural depth and reach within an industry I care so much about.”

Do you have news of an appointment that we should know about? Get in touch by emailing news.editor@theticketingbusiness.com and we’ll include it in our next round-up.