Former Woolworths boss abruptly steps down from Ticketek

Former Woolworths boss Brad Banducci has abruptly stepped down as chief executive of Ticketek after little more than a year in the top job, during which the company lost multiple lucrative clients.

Banducci, who had an eight-year tenure as Woolworths chief executive before taking the Ticketek job in April 2025, told staff at Ticketek Entertainment Group (TEG) on Wednesday that he would leave at the end of this month.

Under Banducci’s brief term, Ticketek failed to retain a handful of its most valuable contracts to manage ticketing at events, including one with Venues NSW reportedly worth about $100 million.

Ticketmaster, owned by the $US38 billion ($53 billion) multinational behemoth Live Nation that also runs tours for many of the world’s biggest artists, won that contract. Earlier this year, Ticketek also lost its contract with Melbourne Park, which covered tickets for events at Rod Laver Area and other key venues in the tennis precinct.

“When I joined the group just over a year ago, I came in to do a specific role – to set the group up for the next horizon of growth,” Banducci said. “I felt the time was right to transition leadership of the group.”

Ticketek is owned by American private equity giant Silver Lake, which acquired it in 2019 in a deal that was reportedly worth $1.3 billion. Like Live Nation, Silver Lake has expanded TEG into a broader company that also runs venues and manages tours.

Earlier on Wednesday, before Banducci’s departure was announced, buy now, pay later company Afterpay announced it had bought the naming rights to an arena TEG owns in Sydney.

The venue formerly known as Qudos Bank Arena will be renamed Afterpay Arena, under a deal that will also see the Square – owned by Afterpay’s parent company, Block – take over the payment terminals at the entertainment site.

TEG chief operating officer Cameron Hoy will take over as chief executive from June 1.

Banducci paid tribute to Hoy and said he would lead the company’s next chapter.

Hoy said the company “exists to partner with the world’s best venues, promoters and rights holders to connect fans to the moments that matter most, and I am honoured to lead such an entrepreneurial business and team”.

The South African-born Banducci left Woolworths in 2024 after a period of intense scrutiny on the sector, which included him walking out of an interview with the ABC’s Four Corners in the middle of questioning about competition and pricing.

Since leaving Woolworths, he has been a partner at Cinderella Collective, a co-working space and business networking organisation for entrepreneurs. According to its website, the collective “embodies the spirit of UBUNTU, a wonderful African expression that describes a feeling of interconnectedness, humanity and family”.

Banducci wrote he is “trying to actively practise UBUNTU on a daily basis”, on his LinkedIn profile.

Landmark legal proceedings in the US last month found that Live Nation had violated competition laws by monopolising control of venues, talent and ticketing. The company is appealing.

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