Billboard's Women In Music 2011: Kathy Willard
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No. 3
Kathy Willard
Executive VP/CFO, Live Nation Entertainment
Website: Livenation.com
Twitter: @livenation
As executive VP/CFO of Live Nation Entertainment, Kathy Willard oversees the finances of the world's largest live entertainment, ticketing and e-commerce company. With Live Nation's integration of Ticketmaster completed, Willard's work now is reflected in the company's improving financial profile. Despite a tough economy, U2 leveraged the Live Nation platform to stage the biggest tour in history, grossing $293.3 million, according to Billboard Boxscore. Willard also played a major role in integrating Live Nation's divisions following the Ticketmaster merger in 2010, resulting in $60 million in savings. Through the end of September, Live Nation put on 15,700 concerts, entertained 36 million fans across 40 countries and grew 4% since third-quarter 2010. Under Willard's financial guidance, Live Nation has increased revenue, adjusted operating income and profit margins. Those results affirm the value of the Live Nation/Ticketmaster merger. The company increased its festival portfolio, launching 10 new events for a total of 45 festivals globally. "I believe that by working alongside operations and being their business partner, I will be able to help them achieve better success at their job while at the same time gathering the knowledge and insight to do my job better," Willard says.
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