Eventbrite Taps Lanny Baker For CFO Post

– Eventbrite
Co-Founders Kevin and Julia Hartz

Eventbrite has named Lanny Baker Chief Financial Officer, a post he will assume on Sept. 3. Baker succeeds Randy Befumo, who has held key executive roles with Eventbrite since 2013 and served as Eventbrite’s Chief Financial Officer since 2016. Befumo will move into the role of Chief Strategy Officer for the company.

Baker joins Eventbrite from Yelp, where as CFO he oversaw corporate finance, accounting, investor relations and workplace functions. Prior to joining Yelp, he served as CEO of ZipRealty and CFO for Monster Worldwide, where he oversaw the company’s international expansion. Baker spent the earlier part of his career as a sell-side research analyst covering the Internet and Media industries. Baker has also served as a Board director for public companies including HomeAway, XO Group and Leaf Group.

Eventbrite co-founder/CEO Julia Hartz commented, “I can’t think of a better partner than Lanny to help lead the company through our next phase of growth. His experience scaling high-growth public companies and deep knowledge of how technology platforms can transform industries will be instrumental in helping us continue to drive sustainable long-term growth and value for our shareholders.”

Added Baker, “I’m excited to join Eventbrite at such a critical point in the company’s journey. The team has built a robust platform where the interests of the business are directly aligned to the interests of customers. I’m inspired by the opportunities to build upon the position Eventbrite has already established and look forward to helping further the company’s mission by building a self-serve, business enablement platform for event creators.”

Said Hartz, “I want to express my gratitude to Randy for his commitment to Eventbrite as a key business partner over the past six years and recognize his contributions to the growth strategy we’ve deployed. I’m looking forward to having his focus on strategic initiatives that will best serve creators and enable them to continue to grow and achieve success on our platform.”

The news comes as Eventbrite just announced its Q2 earnings Aug. 7, with an operating loss of $14.5 million while it continues to move Ticketfly clients to its platform. The company also revealed it elected to pay $4 million in refunds after the failed Roxodus festival in Canada, which will be included in the third quarter financials.

In 2018, Eventbrite served 795,000 creators in 170 countries, processing 265 million tickets to nearly 4 million events around the world.