Meet the team: Q&A with George Efthimiou, our Product Delivery Manager here at Ticketmaster Hellas. Find out more about him below.
Tell us your story, from your first day at work until the day you became Product Delivery Manager
I joined Ticketmaster Hellas in November of 2016 as an Account Manager. I remained in this position for almost one year and a half supporting mostly national and international sport clients. This period was useful and important for me as I got familiarized with the ticketing market and our ticketing product. My continuous willing to learn and achieve more led me to the position I hold now, being the Product Delivery Manager of the tournament platform.
What were you doing before?
Before I join Ticketmaster Hellas, I was working on an equally complex and demanding market. In more detail, I was member of a team which was responsible for the planning and scheduling of refinery maintenance projects. It might sound crazy, but a refinery maintenance project has similarities to major tournament ticketing project, as both projects have a predefined fixed start date.
Describe one normal day at the office
As in every working environment, all days are not the same. Although, an ordinary day starts with a daily planning and scheduling of the team’s tasks and of course a setting of priorities. It will include for sure a couple of meetings for ongoing or future projects and some intense “fighting” moments (ehhh… sorry discussions) with the development team. Finally, I try to save a couple of hours a day for future design, implementation of new ideas and personal development.
Which has been the best project so far for you?
That’s a tricky question as our company has a big list of projects, all with a special characteristic. I’ll choose “The No.1 Court Celebration” held by AELTC (commonly Wimbledon) as this event holds two characteristics that make it unique. The first one is the fact that this is the only Wimbledon event until today that was fully digital (regarding the ticketing operations) from the ballot applications, to the payments and the ticket delivery. The second one has to do with the event itself and its importance, as it was a demonstration tennis match to celebrate the new roof of the historic No.1 Court.
Which has been the best moment at work so far for you?
What else? The moment I joined this team!
Describe one event that took place at work that you will never forget.
Although I am famous for my extraordinary humor (!), I will not describe a funny moment as it is not always easy to feel the humorous vibes if you are not around. The story I am going to describe happened around a month after I started with Ticketmaster Hellas. In simple words, there was a car accident outside our offices with thankfully only minor damages. The parked car of one of my colleagues has been hit and as it was close to EOD, a great number of the company employees stayed with her for a couple of hours more to support both practically and emotionally. That’s our team spirit!
What is the most exciting part of being Product Delivery Manager?
I would say the privilege I have to work with remarkable colleagues on designing and improving our product continuously. It’s really fascinating to see your ideas being implemented and also cover the needs of world class tournaments.
What live event are you most excited about for 2019? Or which show/artist would you like to get in Greece in the future?
I’ll choose the 2nd question as I know the answer many years now, Daft Punk!
Biggest challenge to date?
Taking up a position that was practically created the moment I took it. As you can easily understand, starting something from scratch gives you unlimited freedom, but at the same time you have no solid foundations to step on and it is very easy to get away from the goal.
What CD do you always play while driving?
I admit that I try to continuously renew the music I listen to while driving as I spend several hours doing so each week. Two of the CDs anyone could find for a long time in my car are the following, Moscow, #GU21 of Deep Dish and Manos Hadjidakis’ “Magnus Eroticus”. Both so different and yet so qualitative!
What are you listening to at the moment?
Good question! I am currently thrilled with the latest release of Global Underground, Berlin #GU42, compiled and mixed by Patrice Bäumel.
Any closing remarks?
What else? Book Daft Punk! No, I am joking… I’ll take this chance and thank everyone in Ticketmaster Hellas for our cooperation and their professionalism!
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