Scott Cutler leads a team of 800 people and oversees the company’s operations in U.S., Europe and China-- bringing a deep knowledge of technology-enabled marketplaces to his role running StubHub, along with energy and new drive. He sat down with eBay News Team members Adam Kohler and Jennifer O’Connell to talk about being a disruptor in the marketplace, StubHub’s future - and the time he had to dig his way out of the ice with a spoon.
On being a disruptor…
“When people think about ‘I want to go to an event, I want to go to a concert, I want to go to a game’, they think of StubHub first. StubHub was the disruptor in this marketplace,” he says.
“StubHub created this marketplace. It created the fan experience. It created the opportunity for sellers really to be able to monetize tickets in a way that has incredible market impact. Now it really is about how we extend that platform, develop deeper partnerships and take it to different areas.”
It was the opportunity to extend that platform, along with StubHub’s purpose of expanding the marketplace and empowering fans, that attracted him to join the eBay-owned company in April 2015.
On the future for StubHub…
“We really have three main objectives that we’re working on right now. First, is to enhance the marketplace for both the buyers and the sellers, and develop that eco-system. We also have a big market opportunity going directly to primary ticketing venues. And finally I really look at international as a big opportunity for us as a business. Today it’s only around 5 percent of our overall revenue, so there’s lots of room for growth.”
On his life before eBay…
Previously, Scott spent nine years as executive vice president of the New York Stock Exchange, a role in which he helped to transform it to become the number one global exchange. He was responsible for more than $1 billion in annual revenue, and led a team of 500 people in 12 countries. He managed the Exchange’s relationships with over 2,100 companies from Canada, Latin America, United States and Asia, and over 2,000 companies listed in the European domestic markets. Prior to that, he worked as an investment banker, focusing on the technology, media and retail sectors.
“While you might think of Wall Street and the New York Stock Exchange and StubHub and the ticket marketplace as very different marketplaces, the reality is that how those ecosystems operate, the technology behind them, and how you’re able to drive traffic to transact in the marketplace are very similar,” he says.
On his life away from the office…
When he’s not hard at work expanding opportunities in the fan-to-fan marketplace, Scott is most likely to be found scaling a mountain, running a marathon or cycling the Tour de France.
His love of the extreme sports has led to the occasional near-miss: He once had to use a spoon to dig a snow cave to keep himself alive on Mount Hood, after he got caught in a whiteout. “I’m here today because I just dug in and worked the problem,” he says.
But his most memorable sporting moment was beating former alpine World Cup alpine ski racer Phil Mahre in a televised amateur race - wearing a pair of skis he bought off eBay, of course.
Right now, he’s got his eye on a bigger goal.
“The opportunity to lead StubHub at this point in time, to be part of the pivot of eBay and StubHub, is something that I’m extremely excited about. I have the opportunity to dive into a marketplace that’s a leader in its space with a lot of growth opportunities in front of it. And I think uniquely all of the life experiences that I’ve had to this point have led me to the here and now.”