self-service ticketing platform and global events marketplace,Eventbrite today announced the appointment of Rachael Neumann as the Managing Director of Australia.

Neumann will be responsible for leading and building the local team and driving the local strategy to capatalise on the strong growth Eventbrite has seen in market, especially since it opened its first APAC office in Melbourne in March this year.

Former Director of Customer Experience Strategy returns home to lead and build Australian business after Eventbrite experiences double digit growth rate in country upon ramping up in market earlier this year.

In recent years, Eventbrite has seen a strong uptake of its product in Australia, and this has accelerated this year due to the significant investment the company had made in developing a local team. Today Australia represents approximately 5% of total global gross ticket sales, and ticket volumes continue to reflect high, double-digit growth rates in country. Additionally, over 25% of the total tickets processed in Australia have been processed in the first six months of this year. Among the 100,000 Australia events on Eventbrite’s platform include a number of iconic events like Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, the Biennale of Sydney, Next Wave Festival, TEDxMelbourne, Pause Festival and EQUITANA Melbourne.

Neumann has returned to Australia after a year in the US, working as the Director of Customer Experience Strategy at Eventbrite. In her new role as the Managing Director of Australia, Neumann will be responsible for accelerating the already strong organic growth and adoption in Australia by increasing awareness of Eventbrite as an easy, reliable and innovative solution for event organisers of all shapes and sizes. She will also ensure Eventbrite Australia delivers a strong localised offering by building a team of local experts, while maintaining the award-winning culture of the US headquarters.

“Rachael’s understanding of Eventbrite’s vision and customer-centric approach, coupled with her deep understanding of the Australian market, will put her in good stead to drive and develop our Australian strategy,” said Kevin Hartz, co-founder and CEO of Eventbrite. “Eventbrite is about leveraging technology to bring people together through live experiences, and we believe Rachael’s local ties to the market and her experience with Eventbrite makes her a natural fit to take our presence to the next level in a very important market.”

Neumann said she was excited by her new role and up to the challenge.

“I have loved working with Eventbrite in the US and truly believe in its mission to democratise ticketing by offering innovative, robust and intuitive tools for event organisers. To be able to come home and lead and grow the Australian business is a great privilege. While we have already seen strong organic growth here, we believe there is still a massive opportunity to bring world-class technology and superior customer service to all types of event organisers and attendees across the country,” she said.

As well as naming Neumann as Managing Director, Eventbrite has also appointed Laura Huddle as its Head of Marketing for Australia and Damien Munro as Senior Business Development Manager.