Ticketmaster CEO John Pleasants will exit that post to pursue an entrepreneurial opportunity outside the company. A specific departure date is expected later this month.
“I am going to a well funded start-up in a large industry, an opportunity which will be revealed in mid-September,” Pleasants tells Billboard.biz. “While I am excited for the new challenge, I leave a truly fantastic company in Ticketmaster, one that has taught me much and grown in significance within the industry.”
Ticketmaster chairman Terry Barnes will assume Pleasant’s CEO responsibilities. “John’s contributions to Ticketmaster—and [Ticketmaster parent] IAC as a whole—are significant and lasting,” Barnes says. “We will miss him and wish him all the best.” The transition is expected to be seamless.
Barnes joined Ticketmaster more than 20 years ago and served as Ticketmaster CEO for several years before being named Chairman in 2001.