StubHub’s Tsakalakis at Ticket Summit

Chris Tsakalakis, the influential General Manager of the combined eBay Tickets/StubHub business, has been named to the roster of speakers at Ticket Summit 2008, the largest trade show and convention dedicated to the secondary ticket industry. StubHub is the world’s most dominant secondary ticket company, according to TicketNews’ exclusive industry rankings.

Tsakalakis will be a panelist for the “Blurring the Line” discussion, which will explore the different ways the primary and secondary ticket markets are coming together and the potential shifts on the horizon. Attendees will hear about the ways the primary market is attempting to extract more revenue from consumers; how the secondary market continues to provide value; ways the two markets are already working together; and how the line between the two is expected to blur even more in the coming year. TicketNetwork, organizer of Ticket Summit and owner of TicketNews, expects the conference will attract about 1,000 brokers, experts and executives from throughout the ticket industry.

The discussion, and the conference itself which is in its third year, is more timely than ever in light of the recent purchase of secondary ticketer TicketsNow by primary ticket seller Ticketmaster, both of which are competitors of StubHub.

At eBay/StubHub, Tsakalakis is responsible for the company’s full P&L. He has been an eBay executive since 2003, and prior to joining eBay Tickets, Chris managed the Advanced Solutions Group which provides solutions for advanced buyers and sellers and includes eBay Stores, ProStores, Trading Platforms, Seller Marketing and Tools, the eBay Developers program and Shipping.

Over a 3-and-a-half year period, Tsakalakis managed the development and growth of the eBay Stores subscriber base from 50,000 to more than 260,000. Additionally, he oversaw the launch of ProStores, an eBay company offering complete Web storefront solutions independent of eBay.com. Tsakalakis received a Bachelor's of Science in Economics degree from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Ticket Summit is scheduled for July 23-25 at the Venetian Resort Hotel Casino in Las Vegas. For more information, visit the event’s website.