Featured News

People on the move: SeatlabNFT, OVG and more…

We round up the latest movements from the ticketing ecosystem…

SeatlabNFT has brought in Paul Kelly (pictured left), who has over 11 years of experience with Ticketmaster, as head of global strategy. 

Kelly was formerly head of commercial partnerships at Ticketmaster, and was instrumental in delivering Ticketmaster Australia and New Zealand’s 2022 strategic plans before joining SeatlabNFT. 

He said: “I’ve seen many competitors come into the ticketing landscape over the last 10 years, none as compelling as SeatlabNFT. SeatlabNFT is perfectly positioned at a game-changing confluence, a Web3 technology revolution, and a live event industry well overdue for disruption.

“Three key factors plague the live event industry: bots, scalping and fraud. SeatlabNFT’s technology shuts the door on all three. What gives me the most excitement is SeatlabNFT leveraging Web3 technology to form closer connections between fans, artists and event organisers. It is a groundbreaking innovation previously unseen in the live event space.”

Resale platform StubHub International has announced Fabian Pulido Diaz has joined as the new chief financial officer. 

Diaz has previously held roles in the US, UK, Scandinavia and South Africa and has worked for the likes of British Telecoms, The Hut Group and TUI. 

He said: “I am thrilled to join the team. As StubHub International gets ready to celebrate its first anniversary as an independent company, it is great to see the momentum around the company and its success. The business performance has been improving every month, and July was the best month since the beginning of the global pandemic, paving the way for a strong outlook into 2023. 

“The live events industry has demonstrated itself a more agile and competitive marketplace than ever before, and I look forward to helping StubHub International with creating the best experience for buyers, sellers and fans everywhere.”

Atle Skalleberg, operating partner at Stubhub International investor Digital Fuel Capital, added: “We are excited to welcome Fabian to the StubHub International Leadership Team. With his extensive experience in finance in the online sector as well as in dynamic industries at global level, we are confident that Fabian can help drive success and impact at StubHub International.”

English League Two club Leyton Orient has appointed Mike Pink as its chief commercial officer. 

Pink is set to join from Bolton Wanderers in September and has previous experience at Premier League club Crystal Palace, Championship club Queens Park Rangers, and Wembley Stadium. 

Leyton Orient’s chief executive Mark Devlin said: “I am delighted that Mike will be joining Leyton Orient at such a pivotal and exciting time for the club. We have aspirations to grow the club and our overall business on and off the field, and Mike’s commercial partnership experience in both the Premier League and League One will be invaluable to that process. I have no doubt that Mike will be a success.”

The position was vacated by former head of commercial Josh Stephens, who has moved on after four years in the role. 

Pink added: “I’m delighted to be joining Leyton Orient at such an exciting time. I am really looking forward to supporting Mark, the Board and staff on continuing to grow the club and take it forward.”

Venue development, advisory and investment company for the sports and live entertainment industries, Oak View Group (OVG), has brought in Wesley Cullen (pictured right) as vice-president of international venue development. 

Cullen is based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and will report to OVG’s executive vice-president business development, Brian Kabtznick.  He said: “We are thrilled to have Wesley join our international venue development team.  As a highly respected arena executive we welcome her management expertise, passion to support OVG’s environmental initiatives and commitment to working in wonderful global cities.”

Cullen added: “It is an exciting time to join this talented team to lead the industry in sustainability and inclusion as we positively disrupt this field we are so passionate about. 

“I am honoured to work alongside Brian and learn from one of our industry’s masters of international development. OVG is phenomenal at opening doors for others and has built a team of superstars that I feel privileged to join.”

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 Wednesday round-up…

Image: Wesley Cullen image courtesy of OVG