Maria OConnor
Maria O’Connor believes that Ticketmaster’s passionate and driven employees distinguish the company from its competitors.
The people and the passion that energise and invigorate Ticketmaste'rs operations and processes have ensured that it remains at the forefront of a rapidly changing industry. Maria OConnor, Managing Director of Ticketmaster Australia and New Zealand, recently took a break from this 24/7 business to discuss it's continual evolution.
The CEO Magazine: Having been with the company for more than 30 years, how have you seen Ticketmaster evolve as social and technological trends have shifted?
Maria: Its changed a lot, mostly driven by consumers having technology at their fingertips. When I first started in the business, the technology was in the hands of the companies, not the consumer. Now that consumers have the technology, its made all retailers change.
With us being at the forefront of that, its definitely changed how we interact with consumers. Technology has made the entertainment industry change more than most because, if you think back to the days of Phantom of the Opera, there was technology on stage and the consumer noticed first how shows changed and how things were delivered on stage differently.
Then that was translated into how they bought their tickets and how they found out which shows they wanted to go to. Now it's translated into the artist or entertainer engaging with their fans. The whole technology shift has revolutionised the entertainment industry.