Eventbrite today announced the appointment of its first Australian general manager, Phil Silverstone, as the company continues its path to ticketing the full spectrum of Australian events, large and small.

In his new role, Silverstone will be responsible for leading and expanding Australian operations and driving the company’s local strategy as Eventbrite continues to increase its share of the $270M Australian ticketing industry.

Silverstone joins Eventbrite after 16 years in financial services with GE, bringing with him broad experience across key business areas including corporate governance, operations, risk management, marketing, and sales.

His appointment comes as the local arm of the company enters into a new phase of growth and capitalises on strong traction Eventbrite has seen in market since launching its APAC office in Melbourne in March 2014.

Eventbrite has demonstrated exceptional uptake within the local market, with Australia driving over 150,000 events on the platform in 2015.

“Although Australian organisers have used Eventbrite for 10 years, more than 40 per cent of the total events in Australia were from 2015 alone. We’ve built a great foundation and proven Eventbrite’s market fit, so it’s now time to drive operations in the region to the next level,” said Julia Hartz, co-founder and CEO of Eventbrite.

“Phil will be key to ensuring Eventbrite Australia delivers a strong localised offering by continuing to build a team of local experts, whilst maintaining our award-winning culture and commitment to our customers. Plus his Australian wit and charm are a welcome edition to the Eventbrite leadership team!”

Silverstone said, “I’m proud to be joining Eventbrite and am looking forward to working closely with the Australian team to expand our footprint in the market. I will be particularly focused on evolving the business’ position through a targeted strategy founded on four pillars: focus, differentiation, execution, and scale.

“I’m also thrilled to be joining a company renowned for its impressive culture, Eventbrite is committed to creating a positive work environment for employees and this played a significant part in my decision to take this next step in my career journey. Since launch we’ve tripled the size of the team and I believe we have the right people, the right product and the best technology to become a major player in the market.”