Greg Bettinelli, executive vice president of business development and strategy for Live Nation’s fledgling ticketing operation, has left the company, sources have confirmed.
Bettinelli joined Live Nation just over a year ago from StubHub, where he held a similar position.
At Live Nation, he was responsible for the strategic direction and business partnerships for Live Nation’s ticketing operation, and was integral in landing the Blockbuster retail outlet deal for the company.
Yet, with the proposed merger between Live Nation and Ticketmaster on the horizon, Bettinelli’s role would have likely changed. He is the second high-level ticketing executive to split from one of the two companies in the wake of the merger announcement, following Ticketmaster’s head ticketing honcho Sean Moriarty who left late last month.
Bettinelli could not be reached for comment, but in an email obtained by TicketNews that Bettinelli sent out to friends and colleagues, the ticket industry veteran made it clear that the decision to leave was his own, adding that he has not yet settled on a new position. Sources told TicketNews that Bettinelli told them that he has already been approached to advise some companies in the secondary ticketing market.
“With everything going on inside and outside the music/sports/ticketing business, I just thought now was a good time to evaluate opportunities around the ecommerce and ticketing spaces. I could simply do so with much more flexibility being independent from Live Nation,” the email stated.
