Lyte, the San Francisco-based ticket exchange service, has appointed Zahid Zakaria (pictured left) as its new vice-president of operations and customer strategy.
In his new role, Zakaria will focus on “developing the roadmap, insights, and foundations which underpin Lyte’s Sales and Success practices, while also cultivating a strong partnership with Lyte’s Product and Engineering teams as the company continues to innovate and scale.”
Prior to joining Lyte, he worked at software company Yext where he built out its insights, analytics and customer success operations practices.
Ant Taylor, chief executive of Lyte, added: “I am excited for the leadership Zahid will bring to our pricing and yield management work at Lyte. Our products are fundamentally oriented towards the needs of fans.
“The magic under the hood is an increasingly sophisticated, algorithmic pricing engine built to optimise event yield and save fans money. Zahid’s work will help us refine the algorithm and lead to many, many more happy fans and full venues.”
Elsewhere, Ticketmaster’s former president and chief operations officer Amy Howe (pictured right) has been appointed as interim chief executive of FanDuel.
Howe was already the president of the US sports gambling company after joining in February from Live Nation.
She takes responsibility for leading the group’s core commercial functions across its sportsbook, casino, racing and daily fantasy units. The move comes after the departure of Matt King, who will leave his post on Friday this week.
Peter Jackson, global chief executive of Flutter Entertainment, the parent company of FanDuel, said: “Matt leaves the business in a position of real strength, and we wish him well for the future. The interim appointment of Amy, working alongside the wider FanDuel leadership team, will support the key focus on growing the business and retaining our number one position in the US market.”
Howe added: “Together with our talented leadership team and organisation, I am focused on continuing the momentum we have built across the business.
“I am confident that our unique advantages in product innovation, marketing, operational excellence, and wide market access will allow us to flourish as online gaming grows across the US.”
Allyson Urban has been named as an agent in the Family Entertainment division at Universal Attractions Agency.
Jeff Epstein, co-owner of UAA, said: “We are pleased to bring Allyson on board. With live entertainment rapidly returning, it is great to have the opportunity to expand UAA’s Family Entertainment department. We look forward to seeing Allyson’s success within the department and company.”
Prior to her move, Urban served as director of talent management at Fusion Talent Group, where she led booking operations for the company’s roster of variety acts, musicians, and comedians, covering theatre and PAC business as well as the fair and festival circuit and cruise lines.
Former long-time president and chief executive of Learfield IMG College, Greg Brown has joined the board of directors at AI-automated sports video and analytics firm Pixellot.
Brown led Learfield into an array of verticals including sponsorship sales, ticketing, official school websites, licensing, branding, and LED video boards.
Alon Werber, chief executive of Pixellot, said: “Greg is an exceptional addition to the board, bringing deep experience across many relevant areas, and we are thrilled to have him join our board. We look forward to his insights as we navigate towards fresh milestones, in the college sports sector and beyond.”
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.
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