PRESS RELEASE: “Tickets.com Names John Walker to Serve as President and CEO”
NEW YORK and COSTA MESA, Calif. (PRNewswire) April 21, 2010 – Tickets.com, a wholly owned subsidiary of MLB Advanced Media, LP (MLBAM), the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball, announced today the appointment of John Walker as president and chief executive officer. Walker, who begins May 17, was named to replace Larry Witherspoon.
Tickets.com is a leading provider of fully integrated event ticketing solutions and services for thousands of top arts, entertainment, and sports organizations worldwide. Delivering the latest in ticketing technology, Tickets.com offers the advanced ProVenue® ticketing platform, which serves the core of a comprehensive suite of integrated features, products, and services that help clients enhance ticket sales, marketing efforts, and overall customer experience.
“We appreciate the invaluable service Larry Witherspoon gave to Tickets.com,” said Bob Bowman, CEO of MLBAM. “As the organization progresses, we look forward to John Walker’s extensive business leadership, strategic planning and ticketing background successfully positioning Tickets.com for its future.”
Walker, who will report directly to Bowman, brings more than 20 years of professional sports franchise and collegiate athletic ticketing and business development experience to his new position. Prior to joining Tickets.com, he served as senior vice president of business development for the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and US Airways Center. In this capacity, he was responsible for all ticketing operations and sales, customer service, customer relationship management (CRM), digital media, and new business initiatives for the Suns. Previously, Walker served as the Suns vice president of ticket operations and sales for the Suns, the Phoenix Mercury (WNBA), Arizona Rattlers (AFL), America West Arena and the Dodge Theatre.
“I am very excited to be joining such a talented team at Tickets.com,” said Walker. “Tickets.com has long been considered a leader in developing ticketing technologies that benefit the end-to-end purchasing experience. The ‘forward thinking’ relationship with its existing client base, coupled with the innovative synergy it shares with MLBAM, creates an extremely bright future for Tickets.com. I feel fortunate to have this opportunity at such an important time in the company’s history.”
Before Walker joined the Suns, he was director of revenue operations for the Kansas City Royals and held ticket operations positions with the University of Oklahoma, the University of Pittsburgh and West Virginia University. A native of Morgantown, WV, Walker received his BS from West Virginia University and his master’s degree from the University of Oklahoma.