Boardroom Media (CEO News)
At CEO (Boardroom Media) we track over 1,000,000 startups and over 5,000,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top California based CEO’ operating in the Ticketing space. If you think a CEO’ is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on [email protected]
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Jaxon Klein
CEO, Co-Founder of Keyo
Jaxon Klein is an American businessman, entrepreneur, investor and startup advisor. Klein is currently CEO of Keyo, Inc., where he is a co-founder and former CTO. Prior to his role at Keyo, Klein founded two companies in hosting technology and web services.
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About Keyo: We place people’s identities in the palm of their hands.
Michael Rapino
President and Chief Executive Officer of Live Nation Entertainment
Live Nation President and CEO, Michael Rapino, has led Live Nation since it separated from Clear Channel Communications in August 2005. During his tenure at Live Nation, Rapino oversaw the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster in 2010 to form Live Nation Entertainment, now the leading concert promoter and live entertainment company in the world. He is also a Director at Sirius XM Holdings Inc, and has served as an Executive Producer on Live Nation Film projects, including A Star is Born and Believer. As Live Nation’s President and CEO, Rapino has led the company through a series of acquisitions and investments to grow the brand’s reach and capabilities. One of these investments was in C3 Presents, the promoter behind prominent music festivals like Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits. Rapino has also supported a number of initiatives that help make live music and entertainment more available to people around the world, increasing Live Nation’s reach to more than 40 countries and nearly 100 million fans each year. Prior to Live Nation, Rapino began his career at Labatt’s Breweries of Canada where he spent ten years working in various marketing and entertainment roles. After leaving Labatt’s, Rapino co-founded Core Audience Entertainment, which was acquired by Clear Channel Communications in 1999. After the acquisition, Rapino served as the head of several divisions at Clear Channel Communications before becoming President and CEO of Live Nation in 2005. Rapino’s work has earned him recognition by several top publications, such as Forbes and Variety. In 2017, he was listed as one of Forbes’ Global Game Changers and one of Variety’s 500 Influential Business Leaders. He was named one of Los Angeles Business Journal’s 500 Most Influential People in Business in 2018. Billboard has recognized Rapino in their Power 100 list every year from 2012 to 2018, with him leading the rankings in 2018. Rapino is a Thunder Bay, Ontario native. He studied business at Lakehead University and graduated with a bachelor’s of administration in 1989. He currently resides in California with his wife and three children.
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About Live Nation Entertainment, Ticketmaster: Live Nation Entertainment is the live entertainment and eCommerce company.
Paolo Privitera
Co-Founder and CEO of Evensi
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About Doochoo, Evensi, Lombardstreet Ventures: Evensi is a platform to discover, experience, ideate, and promote events.
Eric Allen
CEO & President of LISNR
Eric Allen President former CTO (Japanese conglomerate), CEO (2 Exits);former Gracenote GM running $250M business unit in audio fingerprinting.
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About LISNR, LISNR: LISNR enables secure and seamless data transmission using the most advanced ultrasonic data technology
Victor Gajendran
Co-founder and CEO of Ticketmaster
Co-founder and CEO at Gento.
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About Gento, Ticketmaster: Ticketmaster is the world’s largest ticket marketplace and the global market leader in live event ticketing.
Antony Taylor
Founder and CEO of Lyte
Ant Taylor is the founder and CEO of Lyte. Lyte powers mobile ticketing solutions for event owners and fans, providing both a mobile-first alternative to resale websites. Since 2014, Lyte has partnered with over 300 top sports and entertainment brands, including BottleRock Music Festival, Newport Folk Festival, Arkansas Razorbacks Athletics, Mumford & Sons, Stagecoach Music Festival and more. Major ticketing platforms such as Eventbrite, Ticketfly, and Gingerbread Shed, owned by Goldenvoice, have integrated Lyte into their offering. Ant founded Lyte after observing the impact of the secondary ticket market on fans at the London Olympics. Hundreds of thousands of fans have since benefited from the Lyte solution. Before Lyte, Ant was an executive at ad technology pioneer Right Media, acquired by Yahoo in 2007 and ad cofounder of Moat, acquired by Oracle in 2017; two of the top five venture-backed exits in NYC history.
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About Lyte: Lyte is a technology platform that makes it easy for fans to buy, sell, and exchange tickets to live events.
Robert Davari
Founder & CEO of Tixr
Co-Founder and CEO @ Tixr
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About Connect Card, Tixr: Tixr leverages unique technology to redefine the fan experience and evolve the way large-scale event creators do business.
Alan Cole
President / CEO of GovX
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About GovX, Miracosta College: GovX is an eCommerce company built around the appreciation and respect for the US Military and First Responder communities.
Jaime Siegel
CEO & Co-Founder of FlipTix
Jaime Siegel is the CEO and co-founder of FlipTix, Inc., an early stage technology start-up that is creating a new market in event ticketing with the goal of collecting big data around events and attendees that is not currently collected. Jaime is also CEO of Cerebral Assets, LLC, a multipurpose Global IP and Digital Strategy advisory which provides global IP, digital and business strategy consulting, deal facilitations, brokerage services, as well as expert witness services on patent and technology licensing and damages. Cerebral Assets’ clients cover the spectrum from Fortune Top 10 to early stage start-ups, Private Equity firms and foreign government incubator programs, and technology areas including electronics, consumer products, life sciences, biotechnology and medical devices. Jaime Siegel acts as the Global Director of Licensing for one of his clients, the Open Invention Network (OIN). OIN is the world’s largest patent non-aggression community, creating a collaborative space around the Linux System Definition to promote innovation in Linux. Prior to starting Cerebral Assets, Jaime Siegel was EVP in charge of licensing for Acacia Research Group LLC, one of the largest publicly held patent licensing organizations. Previously he spent over 15 years at Sony Corporation of America as Vice President and Senior IP Counsel, where he was responsible for global patent litigation for Sony family companies and out licensing programs, among other duties, including being the official representative of Sony Corporation of America to Taiwan. He is also a designated Neutral (Mediator/Arbitrator) by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Jaime Siegel served as Chairman of the Board of MPEG LA, the world’s most successful patent licensing pool, for two years. Prior to joining Sony, he was an associate attorney at the leading IP firms of Fish & Neave and Kenyon & Kenyon, and an engineer in the aerospace industry. Jaime Siegel was recently named by WIPR as a 2017 Leader in IP, and has been designated by IAM as one of the World’s Leading IP Strategists for four consecutive years from 2014-2018. He received his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School (night program) and his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University.
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About Cerebral Assets, LLC, FlipTix, Open Invention Network, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, University of California, Irvine, World Intellectual Property Organization: Life is Flexible. Events Should be, Too!
Boris Patronoff
Chief Executive Officer of Flavorus
As CEO of See Tickets US/Flavorus, Boris brings a wealth of experience in the areas of entertainment and media. He led the expansion into North America after serving on the Board of Directors for See Tickets and Digitick and working on multiple acquisitions and divestments for Vivendi. A former pro athlete, Boris has always been passionate about Sports and Entertainment. He loves to spend time with his wife and two boys and rooting for his favorite football and soccer teams. He has also lived on three continents and is fluent in French, English and Spanish.
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About Flavorus: Flavorus is an online ticketing website that allows event organizers to sell tickets of various events.
Rıfat Oğuz
Founder, CEO of Sinemia
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About Sinemia: Sinemia is a social platform for moviegoers and a monthly subscription-based service.
Tony Alfaro
Founder & CEO of Ribbon
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About GetMyFunds.com, Ribbon: Ribbon helps people plan events with friends faster and easier.
Steven Sunshine
CEO of TixTrack
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About TixTrack: Tixtrack’s web based software helps venues, promoters and teams optimize their ticket sales.
Sean Wycliffe
Founder and CEO of Dealflicks
Sean Wycliffe, Co-Founder and CEO of Dealflicks. Sean was born in Connecticut but moved around for most of his childhood along the East Coast, following his father through Med School, residency, and his practices. He spent most of his formative years in Virginia, where he lived for 10 years. He cites his childhood as normal: playing basketball, watching wrestling on TV, and playing video games. As a senior in high school, his mother was going into her residency in emergency medicine in Washington DC and it was best for Sean and his dog Rocco to move to California to be with his dad.
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About Dealflicks, Project Pueblo: Dealflicks provides movie tickets and concessions for discounted prices, helping theaters fill their empty seats.
Jim McCarthy
Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Goldstar Events
Jim McCarthy is the co-founder and CEO of Goldstar. An 18-year veteran of the Internet and e-commerce, Jim has spent his entire career in high-growth businesses and likes to share his knowledge and insight with others. He’s the editor and main contributor to SellingOut.com, a website for live entertainment and arts marketers. He’s the curator and co-founder of TEDxBroadway. He’s spoken at conferences all over the world, including TED, SXSW, INTIX and more. His articles have been in Forbes, Fast Company and Business Insider. Jim studied English at Harvard University and received an MBA at UCLA Anderson School of Management.
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About Goldstar Events, USC Marshall School of Business: Goldstar is the largest seller of excess tickets to live entertainment.
Gabriel Benarros
CEO & Founder of Ingresse
Gabriel Benarros is a Brazilian entrepreneur. He attended Stanford University, where he studied Economics and Psychology. Gabriel started a Masters in Management Science & Engineering, but took a leave of absence after receiving the initial investment for Ingresse. Ingresse is Brazil’s first social ticketing company.
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About Ingresse: Ingresse is a social ticketing company that enables people to discover the latest concerts, nightclubs, parties, and theater plays.
Ritesh Patel
Co-Founder & CEO of The Ticket Fairy
Ritesh Patel, Co-founder of The Ticket Fairy, is an interesting mix of event promoter and tech wizard. With more than 15 years in event management and marketing, he also has experience as a cloud engineer.
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About The Ticket Fairy: Full-stack event marketing, ticketing, analytics and advertising platform
Ali Fakhri
CEO of EventHi
Ali Fakhri is the CEO and Founder of EventHi, an event management platform built for the cannabis culture. EventHi was one of the first companies in California to obtain an MRB bank account with Partner Colorado Credit Union. Ali’s background consists of working with two of the largest Fortune 500 companies, leading sales and business development. Ali has ample experience in sponsoring and coordinating professional events related to cannabis which allowed him to come face to face with the banking issues surrounding the cannabis industry. Ali developed EventHi to help bring a solution and fill a void for the cannabis industry in event planning.
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About Cannabis Travel Association, EventHi: EventHi is an event management platform, built for the cannabis event culture.
Matt Voigt
Co-Founder & CEO of Saambaa
3x entrepreneur with 15 years of diverse experience in multiple sectors including Internet, healthcare, real estate + finance. Currently CEO of saambaa, the #1 provider of paid content for local discovery. Trusted by partners that include CNN, Straight Talk Wireless, AllMusic.com and many more. Venture-funded by the Knight Foundation, RightVentures and notable angels. go.saambaa.com
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About Saambaa: Saambaa is a provider of paid content for local discovery.
Jonathan Leone
Co-Founder, CEO & President of Thrillcall
CEO & President Thrillcall – 316 Ventures. Mayor of Sausalito, CA : 2009 & 2010 City Council Member Sausalito, CA : 2006 -2014 Marin Clean Energy – Founding Board Member Chair, Sausalito Planning Commission Sausalito Planning Commission : 2000-2006 Sausalito Waste & Recycling Commission
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About Thrillcall: Thrillcall is a live music discovery service providing concert and ticket listings, special ticket offers and show reminders.
Scot Richardson
Founder, CEO of LaughStub
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About LaughStub: LaughStub is a venue management and ticketing platform for live comedy.
Walter Gonzalez
CEO of Livement
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About Livement: Livement sells tickets and concessions for sports stadiums from mobile phones.
Bradley Simpson
CEO / Creator of Vection Group, Inc.
Brad has over 20 years in the software business with 15 years at Braxton Technologies, a government contractor specializing in satellite command and control software and currently seven years leading Vection Group. He is a senior software engineer and a technology futurist. With many years working in the Joint Domain Command & Control space. As well, he is a SME (Subject Matter Expert) on geospatial alerting of wearable data. Brad is the author of two very significant patents: Highly Efficient and Parallel Data Transfer and Display, USPTO No: 9,665,267 and Geospatial Alerting (Push-notifications), USPTO No: 9,910,561
His proven track record of pulling together the right talent to create the right team, from software and business-minded professionals to creative and financial gurus, shines with the success he experienced at Braxton Technologies. He’s carried the same style of talent acquisition to Vection where he’s assembled a top-tier group of tech and business executives with a single goal, to make VG and their products globally recognized and successful.
His entrepreneurial vision and technical DNA have merged beautifully into SmartSync. SmartSync, a OS agnostic data ingestion hub that passively uploads from data devices, no user button-pushing! With your data being pushed to a human performance data management software.
When not tethered to his digital device, which is rare, Brad scans the consumer landscape for needed innovation that he thinks is missing on the consumer front. He is always ready to pounce on opportunities to create products and technologies to fill pressing needs. Brad attended Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and the University of Southern California.
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About Vection Group, Inc.: Vection Group is an ongoing cloud based streaming API software company. We provide B2B, B2C and B2M SaaS for the IoT, Smart Cities & others
Amir Rosenzweig
CEO of HopOn
CEO at HopOn
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About HopOn: HopOn is a smart mobile payment and ticketing platform for the public transport.
Luke Finn
Founder/CEO of ROLLER
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About ROLLER: Roller is an enterprise software platform for leisure and entertainment venues.
John Weston
Chief Executive Officer of Wheedle
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About TensorMark, Wheedle: Creating seamless experiences for the event industry using facial recognition and augmented reality
Mark Miller
CEO of TicketSocket
CEO at TicketSocket.
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About Modern Commerce, Pedego Electric Bikes, ShopGuarantee, TicketSocket: TicketSocket provides white label platforms and tools for developers and organizations to build ticketing and registration systems.
Nicole àBeckett
Co-Founder & CEO of SameSide
Nicole is a Co-Founder & CEO at SameSide.
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About SameSide: SameSide is an online platform connecting the millions of events and gatherings that happen every day to a cause.
Mike Morey
Co-CEO & Co-Founder of CityPASS
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About CityPASS: Save up to 50% on top attractions in 11 cities & $120 on theme parks in Southern California.
