LOS ANGELES (Diya TV) — Ticketmaster, the global leader in live event ticketing, has named Saumil Mehta as its new Global President, effective November 1. Mehta will report directly to Michael Rapino, CEO of Live Nation Entertainment, as the company continues to expand its global reach and invest in next-generation technology.
Mehta succeeds Mark Yovich, who has served as Ticketmaster’s President since 2020. Yovich will now take on a new role as Chairman of Ticketmaster, focusing on the company’s long-term strategy, innovation, and global growth.
Under Yovich’s leadership, Ticketmaster saw strong growth in recent years, expanding its global presence and advancing its digital ticketing technology. The company credited Yovich with unifying the fan experience across markets and strengthening its position as a global powerhouse in live entertainment.
“As Ticketmaster enters its next chapter, Mark Yovich’s leadership has helped lay the groundwork for continued success,” the company said in a statement. “As Chairman, he will continue to support Ticketmaster’s long-term strategy with a focus on expansion and innovation.”
Saumil Mehta brings significant experience in product innovation, technology scaling, and global commerce. Before joining Ticketmaster, he spent more than nine years at Square, where he most recently served as Chief Product Officer and Head of Business Operations.
At Square, Mehta helped design and grow products used by millions of small businesses and hundreds of millions of consumers worldwide. Before that, he founded LocBox, a marketing automation startup that helped local businesses attract and retain customers through targeted, multi-channel marketing campaigns. Square acquired LocBox in 2015.
“Ticketmaster is an incredible business that serves as the world’s portal to the best live entertainment,” Mehta said. “The real opportunity lies in how we evolve the experience by building smarter and more intuitive ways for fans to connect with the live experiences that matter so much to them.”
Over the past six months, Mehta has worked as an advisor and investor with a range of AI startups. That experience will play a key role as he aims to accelerate Ticketmaster’s AI transformation.
Under Mehta’s leadership, Ticketmaster plans to use artificial intelligence to improve several areas of its business. These include empowering venues with better tools, strengthening their systems against fraud and bad actors, and making the ticket-buying process faster and more personal for fans.
The company believes AI can help reshape the live event experience by delivering more secure and seamless transactions while connecting fans to the shows they love.
Michael Rapino praised Mehta’s appointment as a strategic move that will build on Ticketmaster’s strong foundation and momentum.
“Over the past several years, Ticketmaster has been working to build a strong foundation for the next phase of growth,” Rapino said. “Saumil brings a fresh perspective and deep product and technology expertise that will help us build on that momentum.”
Rapino emphasized that Ticketmaster’s leadership transition is part of a broader effort by Live Nation Entertainment to strengthen its global operations and prepare for the future of live entertainment.
