The Power 50: #7 - Geoff Jones

Geoff Jones spent 18 years with the Australian Defence Force, working his way to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Prior to becoming TEG’s CEO in 2011, Jones held various high-level roles at companies including Ticketek, IMG and SEL.

TEG’s 2019 was quite literally a record-breaker. Eminem’s Rapture 2019 tour - which was promoted by TEG Dainty - was confirmed to have set a new all-time concert attendance record for the iconic MCG, bringing in a whopping 80,708 fans for the US rapper's February show. An impressive total of 257,542 fans attended the tour across Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. 

It’s just one victory among many for TEG CEO Geoff Jones, who oversees the operation of ticketing for over 135 venues and promoter clients, and 30,000 events annually in more than 13 countries. 

TEG Live tours for the year included the likes of Keith Urban, Amy Shark, The Prodigy and Hilltop Hoods, while TEG Dainty (acquired by TEG in 2016) sold an impressive 982,000 tickets across Hugh Jackman’s tour run and 220,000 for Phil Collins’ Not Dead Yet: Live! tour.

Perhaps most significantly for the year though was TEG’s acquisition of UK-based international promoter and venue operator The MJR Group in August. The acquisition included the Australian chapter, which has previously toured the likes of 50 Cent, Pete Tong, Adam Ant, Angus & Julia Stone, Belle & Sebastian and more. “TEG is already Asia Pacific’s leading ticketing, live entertainment and technology business and this acquisition marks a significant step towards TEG becoming a global live entertainment powerhouse,” said Jones upon the deal’s announcement. “The MJR Group is a great fit for TEG. It has strong management talent and a clever live entertainment model to which TEG can add ticketing, analytics and digital capability. The MJR Group also brings significant additions to our venue portfolio.”

The year ended with the sale of TEG to US technology and entertainment investor Silver Lake for a reported $1.3 billion-plus, taking over from Affinity Equity Partners in October. “We are confident that Silver Lake is the right partner for the next stage of the company’s growth,” said Jones at the time. "Silver Lake brings us deep technology expertise as well as important global entertainment content and live events expertise and relationships which will help us to accelerate the growth of our platform globally."

"Enabling our teams to deliver some stunning touring results, from massive stadium shows to packed 500-capacity venues, across every genre, with all the passion and effort that goes into it, and seeing the success when our diverse businesses collaborate."