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Announcing: 12 More Speakers

In the weeks before Christmas we released the names of some fiercely good speakers for the Forum. And, just when you thought it was safe to get back in the water, today we release the next dozen disruptors who will take to the stage in Dublin.

Spanning Sports, Theatre, Cinema, Security and much more – with some seriously exciting ‘new blood’ in for good measure – the 13-week wait is going to feel like forever before this stellar cast showcases the future of Live Entertainment ticketing.

Join the Forum

 

Introducing the next dozen disruptors for 2017…

Clive Humby, Chief Data Scientist, Starcount and Director, Purple Seven, UK

Clive Humby is a renowned entrepreneur, marketeer and pioneer in customer data and loyalty programmes. In 1989, he formed dunnhumby with his partner Edwina Dunn which went on to manage Customer Loyalty programs for retailers around the world. In 2011, dunnhumby was sold to Tesco (aka Club Card) and he and Edwina are now working on helping organisations build valuable products from their data.

He is a Director at Purple Seven, helping the arts and entertainment industry understand, develop and engage their audiences using ticketing data. Clive also has extensive experience of working with summarised geographic data and issues around Privacy of commercially sensitive data. He was one of the first commercial users of census data in the late 1970’s and one of the architects of ACORN system, widely used by government and commerce for local area planning.

At dunnhumby, they developed an extensive range of analytics of shopping data and developed methods for sharing insights from this data with commercial partners whilst protecting consumers’ personal transaction data.

His work has been recognised by the Market Research Society, where he is both an Honorary Fellow and Patron and Ambassador for the “Fair Data” initiative, designed to give consumers confidence in their data being protected.  He also holds honorary Fellowships from the Institute of Direct Marketing and the Institute of Mathematics and its Applications and was made Companion by the Operation Research Society in 2014.
Clive is a patron of the Sir Isaac Newton Institute of Mathematics in Cambridge where he works on a number of projects with leading global academics to explore ways of anonymising and masking big data.

He is a visiting Professor of North Western University in Chicago and Kingston University where he lectures in advanced Marketing Strategies.

Clive was appointed as advisor to The Royal Academy of Arts in 2015 and is due to receive an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering from the University of Sheffield in 2016

 

Richard Howle, Commercial Director, Really Useful Theatres Group, UK

Richard is the Commercial Director at Really Useful Theatres Group, responsible for ticketing in its seven theatres including The London Palladium and The Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Previously he was Head of Ticketing at aka, one of the leading global marketing and advertising agencies for live entertainment. He has worked in ticketing for 18 years and has been responsible for ticket sales and strategy on productions all over the world. These include Billy Elliot the Musical, Dirty Dancing, War Horse, Walking with Dinosaurs, Shrek the Musical and Jersey Boys.

As a ticketing consultant, he has worked with clients such as The Royal Opera House, The National Theatre, The Old Vic, The RSC, Arts Centre Melbourne, Working Title Films, Dreamworks, Cameron Mackintosh and Sonia Friedman.

Passionate about ticketing, Richard has served on the council of STAR (Society of Ticket Agents and Retailers) since 2010.

At #TTF17, Richard will be sharing RUT’s journey in its choice of in-house ticketing platform and how this world-leading theatre organisation envisages the future of its ticketing operations.

 

Federico Smanio, Head of Digital Marketing and Fan Relationship Management, Lega B, Italy

Federico Smanio has designed the overall digital, CRM and social media marketing strategy and is currently Head of Digital and Fan Relationship Management at Lega B, where he also co-ordinates the Supporter Liaison Officers across all 22 clubs of Italy’s second league.

He graduated in Economics at the University of Bologna, is a fluent multi-lingualist (English and Spanish) and a passionate learner of Mandarin Chinese!

Previously, he was a professional football player from 1997 to 2008, managed to start a new career in the sports industry at Lega Nazionale Professionisti Serie B, the Italian second division football league, where he has been working since June 2010 assisting the CEO in the implementation of the Marketing Department of the most dynamic sports organisation in the country.

He is passionate about all things digital and fascinated by the way the new media will affect the lives of people and businesses. 1h 23 min half marathoner and hopeless gourmand, he also writes blog posts on the web, commenting on sport, marketing, language learning, travels, economy and current affairs.

At the Forum in Dublin, Federico will be showcasing how Italian clubs are grouping their digital assets and utilising emerging channels to drive ticket sales, renewals and reward loyalty.

 

Joseph Lee, CEO, Cityline, Hong Kong

Since 1993, Cityline has grown from a ticketing solution provider that is cinema centric to covering live events, visitor attractions and sports. Cityline have transformed their booking engine to create a tailor-made solution for restaurant bookings and online enrollment systems. In 2017, they will also become a payment gateway service provider.

Joseph Lee is currently CEO of Cityline. Joining in 2004, he has been the spearhead in successfully expanding the company from a movie centric e-ticketing platform to a multi-dimensional comprehensive ticketing service provider with customers throughout China, Hong Kong and Macau.

Joseph has over 30 years of experience in the information technology industry. He previously held management positions in renowned multi-national corporations such as IBM, Powersoft and Centura Software, specialising in IT operation, technology and architecture, project management, software development and business development. He obtained a First Class Honours Bachelor Degree in Computing Science from Simon Fraser University, Canada and e-Commerce and an Internet Computing Masters Degree from The University of Hong Kong.

Joseph has been invited to speak at major industry events such as CIO Leadership Forum 2013 Macau and PMI Asia Pacific Project Management Congress 2014 and was a panelist at CineAsia Hong Kong 2016. In 2016, Joseph was awarded the Asian Chinese Leadership Award by the Asian College of Knowledge Management to recognise his outstanding contribution to business innovation and economic development.

Joseph (and we) liked the idea of sharing Cityline’s experience and evolution in becoming an e-commerce total solutions provider at the Forum.

 

Bernie Mullin, Founder and Chairman of The Aspire Group, USA

Dr. Bernie Mullin is Chairman and CEO of The Aspire Group (TAG), a leading global management and marketing consulting business that partners with its clients in implementing “Next-Practices” to produce winning brands, revenue enhancement and strong sales and service cultures. TAG provides a distinct competitive advantage in maximizing organisational and marketing effectiveness, growing sales and building an avid and sustainable fan base. The Aspire Group has clients located in seven countries located on four continents representing best-in-class leagues, teams and brands.

An internationally-acclaimed management and marketing consultant and speaker, who literally wrote the book, entitled “Sport Marketing”, Bernie has over 30 years of experience as a chief executive or senior director in iconic and highly visible sport and entertainment organisations.

Dr. Mullin was formerly the CEO of Atlanta Hawks (NBA), Atlanta Thrashers (NHL) and Philips Arena; SVP- Marketing and Team Business at the NBA; SVP Business at MLB’s Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates; Vice Chancellor of Athletics at the University of Denver (NCAA); and Business School / Sport Management faculty member at the University of Massachusetts.

Bernie is the ‘godfather’ of sports marketing… and we’re honoured to have him back with us to share his insights into how technology is changing the way we reach and retain our fans.

 

Luke Massie, Owner and Founder, Vibe Tickets, UK

Luke Massie 23, is one of the UK’s youngest and most exciting tech entrepreneurs. He’s the founder of Vibe Tickets, an online platform that puts buyers and sellers in touch with one another, with an added social element. Vibe is the first ethical, transparent market place. Real fans, real tickets, real prices.

After launching several other companies, and successfully selling his first company for £96,000 (a week before his 18th birthday), Massie founded Vibe Tickets in 2013, with £50,000 of his own money.

He successful raised £400,000 at seed rounds and a further £612,000 in his most recent funding round; an investment opportunity which Luke opened up to the Vibe community. Vibe successfully smashed their crowdfunding target and attracted over 300 new investors and VC’s, as well as Lancashire County Council, becoming the first company that the Council have ever formally invested in. Vibe achieved a £6million pre-money valuation in the process. Having also gained the support of Sir Richard Branson after being runner up in Virgin Media’s VOOM 2016 competition, Vibe is ready for expansion.

The Vibe team is currently working on developing a premium service, allowing users to be first in line for sold out tickets, as well as developing a secure payment platform.

We’re thrilled to welcome Vibe Tickets to our #TTF17 ‘New Faces & Disruptors’ panel.

 

Steve Pearce, Co-founder & CEO, TickX, UK
 
Steve Pearce co-founded TickX as a result of going out far too often whilst at university and finding it a real chore discovering which events were happening and where to find the cheapest tickets. After contacting his co-founder Sam – the technical brains behind TickX – with the initial idea they were both amazed there was not one single platform for event goers to see what’s on, who’s selling tickets and who is the cheapest.

Launched in September 2015, having received financial investment by the music behemoths Ministry of Sound, they have since gone on to turn down three Dragons’ investment offers on BBC’s Dragons’ Den and subsequently raised over $1M in funding… with a global vision, TickX are looking to become the ‘Skyscanner’ of event ticketing!

Steve joins the #TTF17 ‘New Faces & Disruptors’ panel in Dublin.

 

Ben Rapp, CEO, Managed Networks, UK

Ben founded Managed Networks in 1998 as a spin-out from his previous software business. Focused on IT support and outsourcing for small and medium-sized businesses, Managed Networks is the leading provider of IT services to the live entertainment sector. He is also the founder and a principal consultant at Securys, a boutique information security firm specialising in cyber-security governance and board-level consultancy.

Ben holds a number of non-executive positions, including having served as a director of TechUK – the UK trade federation for technology – and serving on and chairing various TechUK committees. He presently also sits on the Professionalism Board of BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT.

Ben is a graduate of Oxford University, with an MA in French & Philosophy from Wadham College; a Chartered Fellow of the BCS; a Freeman of the Worshipful Company of Information Technologists; a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) with the Information Security Systems Management Professional (ISSMP) concentration.

Born in 1969, married with two school-age children, a keen cyclist and charity fund-raiser, Ben was awarded NSPCC Fundraiser of the Year for 2014. Ticketing Technology Forum 2017 warmly welcomes Ben to the stage in Dublin.

 

Steven Sunshine, CEO, Tixtrack, USA

The Forum is delighted to welcome Steven Sunshine back to the speaker line up for 2017. Steven focuses on business strategy and technology innovation at TixTrack. Steven combines his knowledge of statistics and business to oversee a team that is revolutionising ticketing, from inventory visualisation to ticket pricing optimisation, while delivering the results in easy to use products.

With more than 40 issued patents and 40 pending patents, Steven is focused on creating new technology that solves customer problems. Steven has a Ph.D. in chemistry from Northwestern University and an M.B.A from the USC Marshall School of Business.

 

Julien Piwowar, Founder, Pacifa Decision, France

Julien has a Ph.D. in Operational Optimisation concerning safety and security at major events. He founded PACIFA decision in 2009 following its research to develop innovative tools to improve daily management and general revenue for multi-purpose arenas.

Julien has been a corporate member of ESSMA – European Stadium and Safety Management Association – since 2010 and teaches at the University of Technology in Troyes.

PACIFA decision tools are today in operation in more than 125 venues in the world, and in 2015 became the European leader in 3D seat mapping for online ticket sales and interactive staff management.

 

Reshad Hossenally, Director, Ticket Arena & Event Genius, UK

Founder and Managing Director of Ticket Arena & Event Genius, Reshad ‘Resh’ Hossenally started out selling tickets by hand as a part-time job while studying at University. Since 2008, he has developed the company into one of the UK’s leading primary ticketing and event technology providers, with operations spanning the globe.

Tried and trusted by some of the industry’s biggest events, club promoters and artists – including Ibiza Rocks, Carl Cox, Parklife Festival and The Warehouse Project – under Resh’s strategic direction the company’s in-house developers apply innovative technologies to create flexible solutions that improve sales, amplify promotion and deliver greater efficiency. Throughout 2017 he will lead a £3 million programme to redesign the company’s brand and software solutions.

By staying true to his original goal of providing gig-promoters with a better way to sell tickets online, the company has created robust solutions for longstanding industry issues, such as selling tickets via your own website, creating intelligent reports, improving social media visibility, as well as enabling peer-to-peer selling and cashless RFID payments.

Reshad joins the #TTF17 ‘New Faces & Disruptors’ panel in Dublin.

 

Mark Foster, General Manager – Super League, Rugby Football League (RFL), UK

Mark Foster brings over 15 years’ marketing and commercial experience at the elite level of professional sport. A team leader with a proven track record of achieving results in Marketing, Sponsorship & Corporate Sales at the highest level in a number of sports including Rugby League World Cup, Premiership Rugby Union, Premier League Football and international & domestic cricket.

Mark was appointed Super League General Manager in May 2016 with overall responsibility for the 12-team, elite domestic competition for Rugby League in the northern hemisphere. Ultimately, he must ensure that the Super League achieves its targeted profit each year as well as targets for spectators, visibility and profile, and digital engagers. He is also the Senior Responsible Officer for all major events including the Grand Final at Old Trafford, the Challenge Cup Final at Wembley Stadium and Magic Weekend at St James’ Park.

Prior to this appointment, Mark spent three years as Marketing Director for the RFL overseeing the marketing, communications, PR, digital media and ticketing departments at the RFL and Super League. In addition he was Marketing Manager for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup – leading the marketing activity for the most successful Rugby League World Cup ever (ie ticket sales of over 500,000 and income of over £8million).

Before joining the RFL he held senior positions at Newcastle Falcons (Commercial Director), Durham County Cricket Club (Marketing Director), Everton FC and South Northumberland Cricket Club.

In an exclusive for #TTF17, Mark will be sharing the league’s move to the Sky Tickets platform – a new commercial arm of UK sports broadcaster Sky.

Join the Forum

You can meet our speakers, alongside 450+ ticketing business leaders on site in Dublin. Reserve your place here.

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