Julia Hartz speaking at the Female Founders Forum in Dublin two years ago
The board of Eventbrite has named co-founder Julia Hartz the ticketing company’s new CEO.
Julia Hartz co-founded Eventbrite with her husband and previous CEO Kevin Hartz and CTO Renaud Visage in 2006.
Julia Hartz gave the keynote address at the Female Founders Forum in Dublin two years ago and spoke of how the company succeeded in achieving gender parity among its workforce, a rare achievement in Silicon Valley.
‘She has a proven ability to make things happen, no matter how big the challenge’
– KEVIN HARTZ, EVENTBRITE
Eventbrite, which has offices in Dublin and recently announced 50 new jobs in Cork, has processed more than $5bn in ticket sales across 180 countries. It is understood the company is now processing more than 2m ticket sales a week worldwide.
Investors in Eventbrite include Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global and T. Rowe Price.
Ready, able and fit to lead
Kevin Hartz recently stepped aside from CEO duties after taking temporary medical leave and is understood to have made a full recovery.
In a letter to staff – otherwise known internally as Britelings – Kevin Hartz wrote: “With the creation of the Office of the CEO, I have had the good fortune to see the company and the opportunity in front of us through a new lens. The most notable being that Julia is ready, able, and fitting to lead this great company we’ve built, as CEO. When I recommended this change to our board of directors, I was met with their unanimous support and approval and I’m thrilled to share that Julia will be taking on the role as CEO of Eventbrite, effective immediately, in addition to joining our board.”
He continued:“Julia has been by my side for the last 10 years, as both a dedicated founder and business partner. In addition to driving the tremendous growth of our talented team, she has built an award-winning culture for which our company has been recognised time and time again. She has a proven ability to make things happen, no matter how big the challenge, and I find myself thinking how appropriate it is that the person who in the early days took customer support calls in the middle of the night (and, even on the delivery table) is now our chief 10 years later.”
Hartz said that the transition comes at a time when the company’s traction towards becoming a self-sustaining company is very close.
“The board and I are confident that, with Julia at the helm, the team won’t miss a beat, and will continue to successfully execute against the business plan and drive the company’s performance in 2016 and beyond.”
