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People: ASM Global, Live Nation and more…

We round up the latest movements from the ticketing and associated industries…

ASM Global, the event production and venue management company, has appointed Jay Cooper (pictured right) as general manager of the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City. 

Cooper boasts more than 34 years of venue management experience and has been with ASM Global for 25 years, starting out as general manager of Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. 

Ron Bension, president and chief executive of ASM Global, said: “We are delighted to announce Jay’s appointment as general manager of the T-Mobile Center. Having worked with some of the world’s leading venues, sports teams and event organisations, Jay will bring a wealth of experience and extensive industry relationships that will greatly benefit the facility.” 

Cooper added: “I am excited and honoured to lead the talented at T-Mobile Center as general manager. Kansas City is a vibrant market and the staff of T-Mobile Center has an excellent reputation for delivering exceptional entertainment experiences. 

“I am thrilled and look forward to collaborating with our team, the City of Kansas City and our partners to bring about the safe and timely return of live events to the Midwest.” 

Elsewhere and entertainment company Live Nation has announced that Jenifer Smith (pictured left) has been promoted to head of urban tour marketing and strategy. 

Smith will lead the urban tour marketing team and support Live Nation’s roster of R&B and hip-hop tours with the concerts division. 

Before joining Live Nation two years ago, Smith was a tour marketer for AEG Presents and Goldenvoice for almost ten years. Prior to AEG, Smith worked with ICM Partners in the concerts division for three years. 

Head of talent and touring for Live Nation Concerts Omar Al-joulani said: “Whether it’s artists or our own internal team, Live Nation is always investing in people we believe in. Jenifer has been an incredible leader at Live Nation, and we are confident her strategic focus and experience will do big things for every artist working with our urban marketing team.” 

Australian ticket resale marketplace Tixel has recently announced it is launching in the UK market, as well as in Europe. As the company expands into these markets, citing pent-up demand for live events, Tixel has appointed two newcomers to aid the transition. 

Tixel recently hired Chris Williams in a business development role to build on the early successes of the move and oversee the growth of partnerships. Previously, Williams worked in partnerships as the partnerships manager for US-based concert discovery business Songkick. 

Williams will be joining Matt Kaplan, who has been the head of UK and Europe since January 2019. Kaplan was previously a PwC consultant, who left his role to focus on Tixel in April of this year. 

Both executives will be based in London. 

UK-based consultancy Mott MacDonald has appointed Jim Frayling as consulting director/project principle, where he will work with clients in the sports and events sector. Before joining Mott MacDonald, Frayling was part of consulting projects for private clients through his e db consulting company. 

He wrote on Linkedin: “Delighted to have this news in the public domain. Been beavering away for a while now quietly in a new role at Mott MacDonald. So exciting to join an outstanding organisation at a time when the sports and entertainment industries are starting to look to the future again. 

“I’ve been taken aback by the breadth and depth of knowledge within Motts and the genuinely collaborative feeling in the business – a perk of being employee owned perhaps?” 

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. 

Images: ASM Global/Live Nation