The New Bosses 2024:
Emilia Backhaus | Karsten Jahnke

Passionate about the performing arts, Emilia Backhaus majored in theatre and media studies before interning at Reeperbahn Festival.

By IQ | 29 April 2025

Passionate about the performing arts, Emilia Backhaus majored in theatre and media studies before interning at Reeperbahn Festival.

Inspired by her mother’s stories of legendary promoter Karsten Jahnke, she landed an apprenticeship at Karsten’s company, and two years later, began working alongside CEO Ben Mitha on international acts such as Blackpink, Childish Gambino, Ludovico Einaudi, and Diana Krall, while this summer, she has been focusing on Taylor Swift’s stadium shows.

 

Having a background in theatre, you…

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THE NEW BOSSES 2024:

Nikoline Skaarup

Down The Drain Concerts

Nikoline started her career in music with an internship at Danish online music media Bands of Tomorrow, where she quickly rose to become editor-in-chief.

Gerbine Ulehake

Mojo Concerts

Gerbine began working for MOJO in 2015 as an intern at the North Sea Jazz Festival. Thriving in the role, she was offered a position as festival and booking assistant.

Meera Patel

WME

Meera Patel is responsible for the ticketing, promotion, and marketing efforts for music touring and non-traditional tours globally.

Tom Matthews

UTA

Tom has risen swiftly through the ranks and is enjoying a standout year. Alongside colleagues, Jbeau Lewis and Jules de Lattre, he aided the success of Karol G’s record-breaking Mañana Será Bonito tour.

Eli Gelernter

Wasserman Music

Based in Los Angeles, Eli has had a special focus on expanding Wasserman’s business at Pride events across North America.

Snorri Ástráðsson

Garcia Events

Born and raised in Reykjavík, Snorri Ástráðsson became a runner for festivals such as Secret Solstice, Iceland Airwaves, and Sónar Reykjavík at the age of 15.

Cerys Vaughan

ATC Live

Cerys Vaughan began her career as a show rep in Leicester, as a teenager, running the shows at small venue, Firebug, while also stage managing at Handmade Festival in Leicester.

Chloe Cura

AEG Presents

Over the last five years Chloe has built a strong foundation in all things ticketing and has steadily climbed through the ranks to the position of senior ticketing manager.

Raven Twigg

ASM Global

Raven started her career in 2012 as a freelance music blogger, before taking on a part-time position in customer services at Manchester Arena.

Dotun Bolaji

Primary Talent International

Dotun Bolaji’s journey began during his university years whilst studying pharmacy, when he ventured into promoting club nights with artists such as Giggs, DJ EZ, Section Boyz, and AJ Tracey.

Filip Košťálek

Colours of Ostrava

As a teenager, Filip started organising cultural events in his hometown of Ostrava, and his efforts were rewarded when Colours of Ostrava offered him a temporary role at the festival.

Triin Kalmu

Piletilevi Group

On completing her degree in accounting, Triin joined ticketing specialists Piletilevi Group in 2018 as an assistant accountant, and after a few months was promoted to a full accountant.

Yasi Agahnia

CAA

Based in Los Angeles, Yasi Agahnia specialises in booking shows for high-profile artists within the corporate and private events space.

Austin Sarich

Live Nation

Austin Sarich is a senior tour director at Live Nation, where he has been an instrumental part of the global touring team since joining in 2016.

Sandro Thalmann

Mainland Music

Sandro found his way into the music industry through an internship at Mainland Music where, determined to follow the promoter route, he started booking artists alongside his regular work.

Maria Costa

Rock in Rio Lisboa

Maria Costa found an internship at radio station M80, before joining Rock in Rio Lisboa in 2016 as community manager.

Joshua McGuane

Ticketmaster

With a long-standing history at Ticketmaster, Joshua McGuane worked across fan support and the company’s event programming ops teams before stepping into an executive leadership role.

Louise Smit

Pieter Smit Group

Born and raised in the company that her father founded almost 45 years ago, Louise has been working at Pieter Smit Group for the past five years.

James Aiken

Aiken Promotions

James Aiken is a third-generation music promoter. His grandfather and namesake, James Aiken, founded Aiken Promotions in Belfast over 60 years ago.

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