Avery W. Gardiner, Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General in the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, will be the keynote speaker at Ticket Summit 2008. The event, which is the largest gathering of ticket industry professionals, is scheduled for July 23-25 at The Venetian Resort Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, NV.
Gardiner, who has an extensive background in antitrust issues as a trial attorney at the Antitrust Division, has handled merger and anticompetitive conduct investigations, and her expertise is primarily in the movies, ticketing, and real estate industries. Before joining the Department of Justice, she practiced antitrust law and general litigation with Kirkland & Ellis LLP in Washington, D.C. Gardiner was also a consultant with McKinsey & Company, where she focused on marketing and strategy issues. She holds degrees from Harvard College and Harvard Law School.
“It is fitting that a counselor from the Department of Justice headline Ticket Summit 2008,” Don Vaccaro, CEO of TicketNetwork.com, said in a statement. TicketNetwork, which is the parent company of TicketNews, owns and operates Ticket Summit.
“Avery Gardiner is extremely knowledgeable about current ticket resale legislation efforts on the state and federal levels, and will expound upon antitrust issues that affect the secondary ticket market. Her expertise regarding the ticketing industry’s movement towards a completely free market environment and the subsequent advantages due to new legislation for brokers, consumers and partners will be highlighted in her speech,” Vaccaro added.
The 2008 edition of Ticket Summit is the third annual, and organizers expect more than 800 ticket industry professionals will attend. In addition to an exhibition floor and interactive forums, the conference also features panel discussions and training sessions on several industry topics.
Among the topics to be addressed include:
Forums Blogs & Social Networks
Online social networks are playing a significant role in steering the entertainment industry. This session will highlight how networks operate, their impact on business and event marketing, and how it can expand the ticket broker business.
Hard Tickets v. Paperless Tickets
This session will provide insight on the pros and cons of hard tickets versus paperless tickets, and how event ticketing has evolved in recent years. Discussions will include consumer preferences, new available technologies in the ticketing industry, and the significance of paper tickets and the collectibles market.
Emerging Markets: Europe
Europe’s ticket resale industry is emerging on many levels. This session will highlight both the European and American markets and how they compare in size and growth and how to capitalize on potential opportunities to bridge these two markets in the near future.
