Marla Ostroff

Managing Director North America, Ticketmaster

When the COVID-19 pandemic was at its height in New Jersey and New York, Marla Ostroff was venturing out with her children to help deliver food to various hospitals for several weeks.

“What helped us most [during the last year] was the empathy,” Ostroff tells Pollstar. “And dedication shown by employees who helped teach all of us how to deal with new challenges.”

At Ticketmaster, that dedication took many forms, including a renewed focus on technological innovation, which led to an increased adoption of digital ticketing among its clients – including the NFL – and the development of the SmartEvent suite of tools. Ostroff says that for business that has been able to resume – a few showings of “Disney on Ice,” for example – demand has been high. Ticketmaster UK recently saw a 600% rise in traffic as the country began setting reopening timelines. 

In terms of diversity and inclusion, Ostroff said Ticketmaster is ready to walk the walk.

“We are in the business of bringing people together and we have always been committed to making diversity one of our top priorities to ensure our community of fans, partners and employees feel represented and respected,” Ostroff said. “We are expanding these efforts by first reflecting on our own house, reviewing all levels of the business and finding where we can push to have greater representation from the board room down to our hiring processes. Externally we plan to help amplify social justice causes, increase spend with minority-owned vendors, all while holding ourselves accountable on these actions.”

She can’t pick just one show to find her at as the business does come back, but says she will be “first in line to as many shows as possible when the time is right.”