Some public companies are scrambling to get one woman on their board before California’s law requiring it kicks in at the end of 2019—but Eventbrite is way ahead of the curve.
The ticketing company led by CEO Julia Hartz added global brand president of Clinique Jane Lauder to its board, ensuring that its now 10-person board is split equally between five men and five women.
“Since I founded this company, I’ve had a strong desire and commitment to build a team that looks like the world. Varying perspectives and expertise are critical to furthering our mission to bring the world together through live experiences,” Hartz said in a statement to Coins2Day.
Hartz made it a personal goal to reach 50/50 gender representation on Eventbrite’s board, a spokeswoman told Coins2Day.
Lauder, also an heiress to the Estee Lauder empire, joins chief financial officer at Alphabet’s X Helen Riley, First Republic Bank vice chair Katherine August-deWilde, former eBay Marketplaces president Lorrie Norrington, and Hartz herself on the board. Their male counterparts are Sequoia Capital general partner Roelof Botha, former Ticketmaster CEO Sean Moriarty, former Palo Alto Networks CFO Steffan Tomlinson, Eventbrite music division president Andrew Dreskin, and Eventbrite chairman and Hartz’s husband Kevin Hartz.
The tenures of all except Lauder predate the passage of the California legislation.
Hartz took Eventbrite public in September—a rare woman to lead an initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. Major competitor Live Nation Entertainment, which includes both LiveNation and Ticketmaster, has a board made up of 10 men and two women.
Eventbrite’s board still appears to be all-white. (Eventbrite said it does not ask board members to confirm their ethnicity upon joining.)
Lauder is also a board member at the Estee Lauder Companies and has overseen the Origins, Ojon, and Darphin brands.
“I’m thrilled to be working with a brand that understands the incredible power of human connection and enables creators to facilitate important real-life moments of people coming together around various passions, purposes, curiosities, and causes,” Lauder said in a statement. “I look forward to helping Eventbrite continue to grow both its brand awareness and affinity around the globe.”
