Chris Tsakalakis

Chris Tsakalakis is a Greek-American technology executive. He is the CEO of Kiva, an international nonprofit that crowdfunds loans for underserved people in over 70 countries, Tsakalakis previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of Vivino, an Entrepreneur in Residence at Benchmark Capital, the President of StubHub and an executive at eBay. A University of Pennsylvania graduate, he began his career in e-commerce in 1996 and joined eBay in 2003. He was president of StubHub from 2007 to 2014, as the company became the world's largest ticket marketplace and a leading sports and entertainment sponsor with more than 90 partnerships worldwide. Because of StubHub’s influence on the entertainment industry, Tsakalakis was included on the "Sports Business Journal"’s 2011, 2012 and 2013 lists of the 50 most influential people in the sports business, the Billboard 2012 and 2013 Power 100 lists and the 2010 and 2011 "Huffington Post" Sports Game Changer lists. "Ticket News" cited him as "one of the most influential executives in the ticketing industry."
Biography.
Early career and eBay.
Tsakalakis obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He worked as a consultant for Bain & Company for six years before beginning a career in e-commerce in 1996. He was a manager of two newly founded e-commerce start-ups before starting consulting firm Trefo, which served high-technology companies. Tsakalakis began working for eBay as an executive in 2003. He was the vice president of the Advanced Solutions Group, which provided solutions to advanced eBay buyers and sellers and included eBay Stores, ProStores, Trading Platforms, Seller Marketing and Tools, the eBay Developers program and Shipping. During his time at eBay, the eBay Stores subscriber base grew from 50,000 to over 260,000. He was also involved in the establishm
ent of eBay subsidiary ProStores, which provided web storefront solutions.
StubHub.
Tsakalakis was appointed President of StubHub in 2007 and played a key role in its growth and development, helping it grow into the largest ticket marketplace in the world. Soon after his appointment, in an interview with "The Economist", Tsakalakis stated that StubHub was enjoying "very stellar growth". Tsakalakis contributed several articles to the "Huffington Post" blog. On July 12, 2010, Tsakalakis contributed an editorial in which he defended ticket resale. He argued that "those that benefit the most from the ticket resale are the devoted fans". In a 2010 interview with "Billboard", Tsakalakis said that "StubHub helped rebrand an often-vilified vocation by pushing ticket reselling out of the shadows and providing "a very clean and well-lit place for people to buy tickets, with consumer guarantees that we stand behind." Tsakalakis left StubHub in November 2014, and was replaced by Scott Cutler.
"Ticket News" cited Tsakalakis as "one of the most influential executives in the ticketing industry." In 2011, 2012 and 2013, he was listed in "Sports Business Journal" ’s list of the 50 most influential people in the sports business. Tsakalakis was also on the Billboard Power 100 lists in 2012 and 2013, and the "Huffington Post" Sports Game Changer lists in 2010 and 2011.
Later positions.
In 2016, Tsakalakis joined Benchmark Capital as an Entrepreneur in Residence (EIR) "to explore new business opportunities in the areas of e-commerce, marketplaces and health tech.". Tsakalakis left Benchmark after his one-year stint as an EIR concluded in 2017. He continues to advise technology startups.
In March 2018, Tsakalakis joined Vivino as Chief Executive Officer, taking over the reins from Vivino’s founder, Heini Zachariassen. Tsakalakis left Vivino in October of 2019.
In April of 2021, Tsakalakis joined Kiva as its Chief Executive officer, picking up the baton from Neville Crawley.
Other roles.
Tsakalakis is a member of the Young Presidents Organization and serves on the board of the Western States Region of the American Heart Association.