Secondary Market Ticket Broker Industry Leadership Panel Announced for National Association of Ticket Brokers (NATB) Convention and Trade Show

    WASHINGTON, April 1, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National
 Association of Ticket Brokers (NATB) today announced that the industry's
 biggest names have agreed to participate in the NATB Convention and Trade
 Show's Secondary Market Leadership Panel on Saturday, July 19 at the Wynn
 Las Vegas Hotel -- the only casino resort to have the Mobil 5 Star and AAA
 5 Diamond rating for its Tower Suites. Confirmed panelists for this can't
 miss discussion are viagogo Founder and CEO Eric Baker, RazorGator CEO and
 President Jeff Lapin, Ticket Technology Founder Russ Lindmark, TicketsNow
 President and CEO Cheryl Rosner, and StubHub President/eBay Tickets General
 Manager Chris Tsakalakis.
 
 
 
     "NATB is thrilled to have this panel of industry all-stars share their
 vision of the secondary market's future," said Tom Patania, President,
 NATB. "Secondary market ticket brokers and other NATB Convention and Trade
 Show attendees will have a rare opportunity to discuss industry-related
 topics with these leaders."
 
 
 
     Eric Baker is founder & CEO of viagogo, the leading European secondary
 ticketing business. Prior to viagogo, Eric co-founded StubHub.com, the
 leading U.S. online secondary ticketing company for live events. Eric took
 StubHub from an idea on a sheet of paper to a rapidly growing, profitable
 business that revolutionized the way that fans buy tickets in the secondary
 market and was acquired by eBay for $307M. As President, Eric was primarily
 responsible for sales/business development, strategic planning, financing,
 and public relations.
 
 
 
     Jeffrey Lapin is currently the Chief Executive Officer and President of
 RazorGator Interactive Group, an ecommerce company which sells secondary
 event tickets and related services. Mr. Lapin served as a private
 consultant to several companies from May 2004 through December 2006,
 including In-Fusio Group, Riverdeep, Ubisoft, Capcom, and Four Queens.
 
 
 
     Russ Lindmark is the founder of Ticket Technology, the first software
 company owned by, and created for, Ticket Brokers. Ticket Technology offers
 the secondary market ticket broker industry the most robust set of software
 tools to help make smarter business decisions and provides the highest
 level of integration and automation available in the industry today. Russ
 is the owner of Ticket Solutions, Inc., a ticket brokerage based in
 Overland Park, Kansas and is a former president of the National Association
 of Ticket Brokers (NATB).
 
 
 
     Cheryl Rosner, President and CEO of TicketsNow, is responsible for the
 overall direction and management of TicketsNow and works closely with the
 company's executive team in developing strategies that will produce new
 offerings for consumers and foster future business growth. Joining
 TicketsNow in May 2007, Cheryl has more than 15 years experience in
 successfully leading burgeoning businesses, including Expedia and
 Hotels.com.
 
 
 
     Chris Tsakalakis, President of StubHub and General Manager of eBay
 Tickets, led eBay's acquisition of StubHub in 2007 and is General Manager
 of the combined eBay Tickets / StubHub business, responsible for full P&L
 and post-merger integration. Chris has been an eBay Marketplaces executive
 since 2003. Prior to joining eBay Tickets, Chris managed the Advanced
 Solutions Group which provides solutions for advanced buyers and sellers
 and includes eBay Stores, ProStores, Trading Platforms, Seller Marketing
 and Tools, the eBay Developers program and Shipping.
 
 
 
     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, a 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 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.
 For reservations please call 1-866-770-7555 and mention NATB to receive our
 special rate. Don't wait until the last minute when no rooms are available
 at our price.
 
 
 
     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