FanDragon Technologies Gears Up For Aggressive Go-To-Market Initiatives With Key Hires In Four Departments

FanDragon Technologies, a leading provider of innovative SaaS-based secure mobile ticket delivery solutions, announced the hiring of five new executives to navigate company growth, strategic initiatives and product innovation.

To build out its business development, product development, marketing and finance units, FanDragon Technologies has hired:

• John Marchesini as Vice President of Product
• Jim Abel as Head of Business Development
• Kenji Nightingale as Vice President of Finance
• Ash Steffy as Head of Marketing and Brand Strategy
• Gillian Raikes as Manager of Business Development and Partnerships

“FanDragon Technologies has a unique opportunity to transform the ticketing business with our innovative blockchain-powered SaaS tools, but we know we need a strong team to effectively steer our products into the marketplace,” said FanDragon founding CEO Robert Weiss. “With proven leaders like Jim, John, Kenji, Ash and Gillian at the helm, FanDragon is poised for strategic growth that will add value and transparency to the entire ticket ecosystem – including venues, event organizers, ticketing software companies, and more. We’re excited about the future of FanDragon with this incredible team who can support our expansion.”

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As Vice President of Product, John Marchesini will lead the product innovation team, focusing on developing FanDragon’s growing suite of SaaS ticket delivery solutions. Previously, Marchesini served as Vice President of Product and Engineering for CBS Television Distribution. Prior to CBS, he served as Director of Product for The Hollywood Reporter, leading his team to win its first Webby Award for best website. Marchesini also co-founded Blockchain Beach, a next-generation media company covering blockchain technology.

Jim Abel will be charged with expanding and creating new business opportunities for FanDragon Technologies as Head of Business Development. Abel will focus on building FanDragon’s sales team and executing effective go-to-market strategies for FanDragon’s innovative products across a wide variety of sectors including music, sports, cinema, theme parks, family entertainment, attractions, and fandom events. Abel has 15 years of executive sales and management experience. He previously served as Vice President of Audience Growth and Senior Director of Corporate Development at RockYou, a Silicon Valley-based media and tech company, where he identified, negotiated and closed multiple strategic partnerships and M&A transactions to accelerate growth.

Kenji Nightingale will lead all financial and accounting operations as FanDragon’s Vice President of Finance. Nightingale will work with the wider executive team to process and lead strategic initiatives that drive revenue and growth. Nightingale’s financial experience spans from small startups to Fortune 10 companies. Previously, he served as the Head of Finance & Accounting at Beautycon Media, and before that, led a team of financial professionals at Deluxe Entertainment and spearheaded DIRECTV’s OTT and Commercial businesses growth.

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As Head of Marketing and Brand Strategy, Ash Steffy will lead FanDragon’s global marketing efforts and he will be responsible for all corporate communications, marketing partnerships, public relations and strategic branding across all media platforms. Previously, Steffy served as Vice President of Creative Services at Ovation TV, where he oversaw key initiatives for consumer marketing, advertising sales, affiliate sales, programming and corporate relations.  Before that, he supervised marketing initiatives for the Disney-ABC Media Group. Earlier in his career, Steffy worked for the Directors Guild of America and Universal Pictures.

Rounding out the business development team as Manager of Business Development and Partnerships, Gillian Raikes will focus on building FanDragon’s partnership and customer pipeline and identifying additional strategic growth initiatives. Previously, Raikes was a fellow at Stanford University’s Effective Philanthropy Learning Initiative where she created tools and resources to aid in developing philanthropic strategies. She has also previously worked with KPMG East Africa and McKinsey & Company on large-scale public health and food security innovation projects in Kenya.

Additional product and company news from FanDragon Technologies will be announced in the coming weeks.

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