NATB Convention and Trade Show Attendees to Have a Rare Opportunity to 'Go Behind the Box Office Window' During a July 18 International Ticketing Association (INTIX)-Hosted Primary Market Panel Discussion

    WASHINGTON, June 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Leaders of the secondary
 market ticket broker industry often wonder how their working relationship
 with primary sellers can improve. Attendees of the National Association of
 Ticket Brokers (NATB) 2008 Convention and Trade Show - the largest and
 longest running industry event - will have a rare opportunity to discuss
 the interplay between the primary and secondary market ticket industries
 during a July 18 International Ticketing Association (INTIX) - hosted panel
 with the many of the primary market's biggest names. INTIX President
 Jeffrey Larris will moderate the discussion (Friday, July 18 from 10:45am -
 12:00pm) with confirmed panelists Greg Bettinelli - Executive Vice
 President for Business Development and Strategy, Live Nation; Dan DeMato -
 Founder, FutureTix and Former Senior Director of Ticket Operations, New
 York Mets; Joe Freeman - Senior Vice President and Assistant General
 Counsel, Ticketmaster; Josh Logan - Senior Director of Ticket Operations,
 Houston Rockets; and Derek Palmer - Chief Commercial Officer, Tickets.com.
 
     "As the primary seller and secondary market industries continue to
 converge, it is critical for both industries to better understand how
 greater cooperation and understanding is mutually beneficial," said Tom
 Patania, President, NATB. "This can't miss panel discussion will open a
 dialogue between leaders in both industries and allow NATB members and
 other secondary market ticket brokers to better understand how primary
 sellers view the ticket resale industry."
 
     Confirmed panelists for the July 18 INTIX-hosted Primary Market Panel
 Discussion include:
 
     Jeffrey Larris - President, International Ticketing Association (INTIX)
 
     As president of INTIX, a nonprofit trade and professional organization
 committed to the advancement of admission services as an industry and
 profession, Jeffrey Larris is responsible for the overall operations of the
 Association. His former positions were with the American Craft Council, the
 College Art Association and the New York Department of Cultural Affairs,
 giving him a 20 year background in association management with extensive
 experience in conferences, trade shows, educational seminars, marketing and
 communication, membership development and strategic planning.
 
     Greg Bettinelli - Executive Vice President for Business Development and
 Strategy, Live Nation
 
     Greg is responsible for strategic direction and key business
 partnerships for the Live Nation's ticketing business. He has been with
 Live Nation since 2008. Prior to joining Live Nation, Greg held a number of
 leadership positions at eBay, including Sr. Director of Business
 Development at StubHub, where he led business development, partnerships,
 sales and seller development, including spearheading StubHub's landmark
 relationship with Major League Baseball. Before transitioning to StubHub
 from eBay, Greg led eBay.com's Event Tickets and Media businesses
 (including half.com). Greg was the eBay business leader who led eBay's
 acquisition of StubHub in 2007.
 
     Dan DeMato - Founder, FutureTix and Former Senior Director of Ticket
 Operations, New York Mets
 
     Dan has recently left his long-term position with the New York Mets as
 Senior Director of Ticket Operations to operate his newly formed
 full-service ticketing consulting company, FutureTix, Inc. During his 23
 year tenure with the New York Mets Dan had oversight of a high-tech,
 fast-paced ticketing operation that processed in excess of four million
 tickets per year. Dan's focus is implementing revenue generating ticketing
 initiatives while maintaining the integrity of operating controls. Dan's
 office has ticketed World Series and National League Championship baseball;
 Rolling Stones, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel
 concerts; as well as International Soccer and other events. He has
 conducted numerous multi-channeled high-volume single day 'on sales'.
 
     Joe Freeman - Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel,
 Ticketmaster
 
     Joe Freeman is Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at
 Ticketmaster, where he directs the company's government relations and
 intellectual property efforts. In his 20 months at Ticketmaster he has also
 led Ticketmaster's corporate communications group. Prior to joining
 Ticketmaster, he practiced law for over 12 years as an antitrust and
 intellectual property attorney, and was introduced to the ticketing
 business through the successful defense of Ticketmaster against antitrust
 claims brought by Tickets.com over five years ago.
 
     Josh Logan - Senior Director of Ticket Operations, Houston Rockets
 
     As Senior Director of Ticket Operations, Josh Logan oversees the ticket
 operations department for the Houston Rockets and the Toyota Center. Logan
 joined the organization in February of 2002 and was instrumental in the
 opening of the Toyota Center in 2003. In this role, Logan is the project
 manager for primary ticketing provider Veritix (Vertical Alliance) and led
 the companies' strategic direction in the secondary ticketing market.
 President of the Greater Houston Area Ticketing Association (GHATA) and a
 member of the International ticketing Association (INTIX) since 1999, he
 was chair of the 2007 INTIX national conference and a current member of the
 INTIX Board of Directors
 
     Derek Palmer - Chief Commercial Officer, Tickets.com
 
     A 15-year veteran in the ticketing industry, Derek Palmer is the
 fueling force behind Tickets.com's operational and sales organizations. Now
 serving as Chief Commercial Officer, Derek has experienced first hand the
 different facets of the business, and has successfully found ways to
 streamline and improve efficiencies within his organizations. Over the
 course of his tenure with Tickets.com, Derek has been involved with client
 support, training and installations, technical service, consumer services,
 professional services and strategic operations. Setting internal record
 history with new client integrations, Derek has perfected this set-up
 process by aligning the right internal resources and developing the
 appropriate execution teams launching clients such as Times Union Center,
 formerly known as Pepsi Arena, 9:30 Club, Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh
 Pirates, and The Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts.
 
     NATB's 2008 Convention and Trade Show
 
     NATB's 2008 Trade Show and Convention is three days and two nights of
 informative industry seminars and workshops, as well as entertaining
 networking events. Scheduled events include an opportunity to meet other
 industry leaders during the Thursday, July 17 NATB President's Welcome
 Reception. Friday, July 18 events include the keynote address by
 Ticketmaster President and Chief Executive Officer Sean Moriarty, the
 primary market panel discussion, and business growth guru Verne Harnish as
 the featured speaker. The highlights of Saturday's scheduled events are the
 secondary market leadership panel, a discussion with ticket resale experts
 Dr. Stephen Happel and Professor Marianne Jennings and the NATB Annual
 Meeting. Other industry related workshops and breakout sessions are
 scheduled as well and social events during the Convention and Trade Show
 include: open bar throughout the trade show, breakfast and lunch on Friday
 and Saturday, and exclusive cocktail parties to meet industry
 professionals.
 
     Planning for the NATB convention and trade show, including additional
 guest speakers and social events is ongoing. Any questions regarding the
 NATB trade show should be directed to NATB's offices at (630) 510-4594 or
 by visiting the NATB Web site at HYPERLINK "http://www.natb.org"
 http://www.natb.org, which will include regular updates.
 
     Register for the industry's largest and longest running trade show
 focused on the secondary market by reserving your spot via NATB's secure,
 online transaction form at: https://www.b-online.com/secure/natb/.
 
     NATB has secured lower hotel room prices at the Wynn Las Vegas
 (http://www.wynnlasvegas.com/) from last year's rate. The room rate for the
 Wynn single/double is $229.00 for NATB Convention and Trade Show attendees.
 Available rooms are limited, so please call Terry Stevenson at 630-510-4594
 to reserve a room.
 
     About the National Association of Ticket Brokers (NATB)
 
     The National Association of Ticket Brokers (NATB) was formed in 1994 by
 a group of leading ticket brokers, involved in the sale of sports, concerts
 and theater admission tickets, for the purpose of establishing an
 industry-wide standard of conduct and to create ethical rules and
 procedures to educate the public concerning ticket-brokering services and
 to serve the primary goal of the NATB, promoting consumer protection. All
 members of the NATB are dedicated to the principle of assuring the public
 that dealings with NATB members are conducted with integrity, reliability
 and convenience. To this end, the NATB has created procedures that permit
 the public to report improper and unethical conduct by ticket brokers, and
 to disseminate consumer protection warnings and guidelines. Through
 self-governance, the NATB has provided many enhanced protections for
 ticket-buying consumers. The NATB has worked with law enforcement agencies
 across the country, state and federal legislators and the NFL and other
 professional sports leagues and teams, to accomplish these goals, and has
 been vital in the NFL's fight against counterfeit and stolen tickets. More
 information about the NATB is available at http://www.natb.org.
 
 
 
 
 

SOURCE National Association of Ticket Brokers