Ticketmaster has promoted Jared Smith from Global President to Global Chairman, elevating Mark Yovich to Global President and Amy Howe to Global Chief Operating Officer. Yovich had previously served as President, International, with Howe moving up from her previous post as President, North America.
Pollstar reports the shifts are a part of the company’s mission to “align its operations across the globe by bringing together the North America and International groups as one team to better plan, build, and grow for the future.”
Smith was made President of Ticketmaster North America in December 2012, having served as Chief Operating Officer prior to that. He has been with the company since 2003, working primarily in the company’s focus on data-driven projects.
Smith has served as the company’s public face amid many controversies, similar to the role played by parent company Live Nation Entertainment CEO Michael Rapino. Smith spoke out after U.S. Reps Bill Pascrell and Katie Porter questioned the company holding back refunds for cancelled events in the early days of the pandemic, as well as writing a letter in response to withering criticism over the company’s resale policies in the wake of a scathing CBC report two years ago.
Howe was also in the news for issuing testimony that is questionably accurate in front of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce February 26. Howe indicated that the company only accessed consumer name, phone number, and email address data amid consumer privacy questions related to its forced mobile-only ticketing systems, which are drastically understated compared to what its own privacy policy says it can collect from consumers.
The promotions come amid a period of great uncertainty for the company and wider live events ecosystem as a whole. Live Nation saw a revenue drop of 98 percent compared to last year in its Q2 earnings report, issued earlier this month.
