Patron Technology Hires Betsy Grider as Chief Strategy Officer

Patron Technology CEO Marc Jenkins today announced that Betsy Grider has joined the company as Chief Strategy Officer. Grider joins Patron Technology from her role as Managing Director of Technology Development and Integration for NASCAR where she led a cross-functional team to enhance NASCAR’s entire operation through the strategic integration of new technology. Most recently, she focused on Virtual and Augmented Reality, Visual AI, Data Science, and Digital Transformation.

Grider’s hiring rounds out an experienced leadership team and will accelerate Patron Technology’s ability to innovate and invest in building a premiere live event enterprise technology platform. The company, which received an investment in June 2017 from Providence Strategic Growth, the growth equity affiliate of Providence Equity, now includes PatronManager, ShowClix, Ticketleap, and SeatAdvisor.

“We are excited to add Betsy’s strategic approach and high energy for growth to a strong management team,” said Jenkins. “Pairing Betsy with the investment resources of Patron Technology through Providence Strategic Growth will be a powerful combination as we build an innovative live experience and ticketing company.”

According to Grider: “This is a dream opportunity to work across strategy, technology, and corporate development to build amazing live event experiences.”

Grider joins the Patron Technology team effective today, and will work from her office in Charlotte, NC.

About Betsy Grider

Betsy Grider is an executive who thrives at the intersection of strategy and technology in the sports and entertainment industry. Prior to joining Patron Technology, she built, launched, and led NASCAR’s Technology Development and Integration division. During her tenure at NASCAR, she led projects to bring Vision AI into Pit Road Officiating, launched Twitter’s first sports partnership, and played an integral role in building the NASCAR Digital Media business. Most recently, her team built and launched a Race Management platform with Microsoft, a Credentialing Platform with Allegiant Airlines and Lixar, and partnered with The Weather Company and IBM to build Weather Track.

Prior to launching Technology Development, Betsy’s Strategic Development team served as the internal “launch squad” to structure and seed strategic platforms including the NASCAR Industry Action Plan.

Betsy started in the Business Operations and Strategy team when she joined NASCAR in 2008. That work led to a role in Global Media Rights Strategy with a focus on the strategy, development, structuring, and negotiation of media rights relationships.

Betsy is a frequent keynote speaker on Sports Innovation, Virtual and Augmented Reality, Strategic Alliances, and Women in Sports and Technology.

About Patron Technology

Patron Technology provides innovative and industry-leading technology that enables its customers to create deeper and more profitable relationships with their ticket buyers, fans, and supporters. Under the investment umbrella of PSG, Patron Technology now includes the Pittsburgh-based ShowClix, Philadelphia-based Ticketleap and San Diego-based SeatAdvisor. The company is actively engaged in building out a broader platform that addresses other sectors of the ticketing & CRM market in the U.S. and abroad. www.patrontechnology.com

About Providence Strategic Growth

Providence Strategic Growth Capital Partners L.L.C. (“PSG”) is an affiliate of Providence Equity Partners L.L.C. (“Providence”). Established in 2014, PSG focuses on growth equity investments in lower middle market software and technology-enabled service companies, primarily in North America. Providence is a premier, global asset management firm with more than $50 billion in capital under management across complementary private equity and credit businesses. For more information on Providence Equity, visit provequity.com.