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Eric Baker (businessman)

Summary

Eric H. Baker (born May 1973) is an American businessman, the founder and CEO of Viagogo, and co-founder of StubHub.

Eric Baker
Born
Eric H. Baker

May 1973 (age 50)
Los Angeles, California, US
EducationHarvard College
Stanford Business School
Known forFounder and CEO, Viagogo
Co-founder, StubHub

Early life edit

Baker was born in May 1973.[1] He was born and grew up in Los Angeles.[clarification needed][2][3] Baker graduated from Harvard College in 1995, and received an MBA from Stanford Business School in 2001.[4]

Career edit

Baker worked for McKinsey & Company for two years, and then Bain Capital, a private equity firm in Boston.[4][3]

Baker co-founded StubHub in 2000, with fellow Stanford classmate Jeff Fluhr, initially as part of a Stanford competition from which they withdrew after being chosen as finalists due to concerns that someone might take their idea.[3][2] While Fluhr dropped out of Stanford to focus on StubHub full-time, Baker opted to not immediately join the company.[5] While he was completing his MBA, the site launched without him in October 2000. He rejoined StubHub as its president in 2001.[6] However, Baker and Fluhr clashed on the direction of the company and Baker was fired from StubHub in 2004.[5] StubHub was sold to eBay in 2007 for $310 million.[3][7]

In 2006, Baker founded Viagogo, and has been its CEO since then.[6] He owns Viagogo through a company called Pugnacious Endeavors, which is based in Delaware.[2][8] In 2020, Viagogo completed it's acquisition of StubHub out of Ebay, with the combined company rebranding as StubHub and Baker as CEO.[5]

In May 2018, BBC News reported that the UK Government's digital minister advised that consumers should not use Viagogo, one of the big four secondary ticket sites. Margot James said: “Don’t choose Viagogo - they are the worst”.[9]

In August 2018, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority took Viagogo to the High Court for breaking the law; Baker did not issue any comment or statement. The company reached a resolution with the CMA in November 2018.[10]

In January 2019, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said Eric Baker risked jail over failure to properly protect customers.[11]

References edit

  1. ^ "CONSOLIDATED INFORMATION SERVICES LIMITED - Officers (free information from Companies House)". Beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "Viagogo: who runs it and who owns it? | Money". The Guardian. March 24, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d "Eric Baker: Respectable face of ticket touting". Telegraph. January 12, 2008. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Eric Baker – Founder and CEO, Viagogo.com – MusicTank". Musictank.co.uk. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c Kirsch, Noah. "The Worst Deal Ever: The Inside Story Of The Epically Bad Decision By StubHub's Cofounder To Buy His Company Back". Forbes. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "Eric H. Baker: Executive Profile & Biography". Bloomberg. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  7. ^ "The Tale Behind StubHub's Sale: How Eric Baker Bought Back the Ticket Seller". Wall Street Journal. November 29, 2019.
  8. ^ "Viagogo CEO Eric Baker throws down $23.5 million cash in the Beverly Hills Flats". Dirt. October 9, 2018.
  9. ^ Johnston, Chris (May 30, 2018). "Don't buy tickets from Viagogo, minister warns". BBC News. Retrieved November 25, 2019.
  10. ^ "Viagogo ordered to clean up ticket sales". BBC News. November 27, 2018. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  11. ^ Davies, Rob (January 24, 2019). "Viagogo: directors risk jail over failure to properly protect customers" – via www.theguardian.com.