People

People on the move: SeatGeek, NEC Group and more…

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

The NEC Group has appointed Sir Nick Varney (pictured centre) as its new chair. Varney has more than 30 years of experience working in the tourism and leisure industry and was chief executive of Merlin Entertainments from its inception in 1999 until November 2022.

“We are delighted to welcome Nick as chair at such an exciting time for our business,” said NEC Group chief executive Melanie Smith.

“We have ambitious plans to transform our site into the UK’s entertainment and leisure capital, offering an ever-evolving set of experiences for everyone to explore and enjoy. Nick’s deep expertise in the leisure sector will be invaluable as we execute our plans.”

The NEC Group operates several different venues including the Utilita Arena Birmingham and the National Exhibition Centre, also in the West Midlands city.

After 13 years working as managing director in the Europe, Middle East and Asia region for SeatGeek, Peter Joyce has stepped down to take a career break.

“Taking the plunge to set-up my own software distribution business and introduce the TopTix SRO Ticketing software platform to the UK Sports market back in 2011 was the best career decision I ever made and I’ve enjoyed it immensely,” said Joyce.

“SeatGeek’s acquisition of TopTix in 2017 turbo charged our growth and we progressed to build a client base that I could only have dreamed of.

“I am looking forward to some time out but also excited for a new chapter and the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead when I’m ready to get back to it.”

ASM Global’s changes at ICC Sydney

Venue management and live events company ASM Global has made a series of new leadership appointments for Australia’s International Convention Centre in Sydney.

Current general manager Adam Mather-Brown has been made chief executive following the retirement of his predecessor Geoff Donaghy who spent 30 years at the company.

Mather-Brown has held leadership roles across five major convention centres over 26 years, two decades of which were spent with ASM Global.

Beverley Parker will take on the position of deputy chief executive while continuing in her current roles as the venue’s director of business development and marketing.

Californian music promoter Goldenvoice, a subsidiary of AEG Presents, has promoted four talent buyers.

Becky Rosen-Checa, a talent buyer for the Roxy Theatre and El Rey Theatre, will oversee bookings for the Fox Theatre Pomona. Her booking partner Henry Huerta will continue to handle bookings at the two venues.

Huerta will be assisted by newly promoted talent buyer Montreh Nariman-Hassanabadi. While Chavanté Flakes has been promoted to talent buyer at The Novo.

Finally, Candance Mandracia has joined the company to help book shows in the San Diego area.

Daniel Ruzow (pictured left) has joined hospitality company On Location as director, premium ticketing services and operations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

On Location has previously served as a partner for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games while Ruzow’s career includes ticketing roles with sporting organisations such as New York City Football Club, Brooklyn Nets and United Football League.

Anna Breure is leaving the board of Kunsten ’92, the interest group for art, culture, heritage and the creative sector in the Netherlands.

She joined in 2016 and is due to leave the organisation on November 28 at the general members meeting.

Wilde takes strategic partnerships role

Michael Wilde (pictured right) has joined insurance company Cover Genius as a director of strategic partnerships for retail and payments.

Cover Genius is an insurance technology company for embedded protection that is licensed in more than 60 countries.

Wilde previously worked for ChargeAfter, which embeds lending networks for point-of-sale consumer financing for financial institutions, as senior director of sales for more than two years.

Rory MacInnes has joined Xceed, a nightlife app that allows users to browse events and businesses to access real-time analytics related to the industry, as chief commercial officer.

“We’re on a mission to inspire people to get out, have fun and live extraordinary experiences,” said MacInnes.

“Empowering venues, festivals and promoters with amazing event management and ticketing technology, while providing fans with a marketplace to discover the best music in town.”

MacInnes comes to Xceed after serving as sales director for AIMS API for more than a year and head of enterprise at Audio Network for just under four years.

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.