BIO

Michael is the current CEO of SME Entertainment Group and has been President and Chief Executive Officerof the Live Nation Entertainment since August 2005. Michael was instrumental in leading the merger of Ticketmaster and Live Nation to create the #1 live event company in the world. In 2011, Live Nation Entertainment sold nearly 200 million tickets, promoted over 22,000 concerts, partnered with nearly 800 sponsors and averaged almost 27 million unique monthly users of its ecommerce sites. Under Michael’s leadership, the company has solidified its position as the world’s largest producer of live concerts, with operations in 30 countries and revenues exceeding $5 billion. Before being promoted to President and CEO of Live Nation, Mr. Rapino was the Chief Executive Officer and President of Live Nation’s International Music division as well as the Chief Executive Officer of Live Nation’s European Music division. Earlier in his career, Michael served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of Global Music for Clear Channel Music Group, where he led Clear Channel Entertainment’s London-based International Music division to its profitable expansion internationally.