Australian events management software company EventsAIR named Seattle-based events industry veteran Mathew Donegan-Ryan as its CEO, following what is described by the company as a “significant investment” by private equity firm The Riverside Company.
Donegan-Ryan took over the CEO position April 1 from founder Trevor Gardner, who is an investor in the company along with Riverside, Donegan-Ryan and other management team members.
Brisbane, Australia-based EventsAIR is a software solutions provider for in-person, virtual and hybrid events, developing software used before, during and after events to manage registration, attendee engagement, operations, housing, travel, marketing and communications. According to the company, it has delivered more than 350,000 events across Asia-Pacific, EMEA and North America.
EventsAIR customers include professional conference organizers, industry associations, corporations and educational institutions such as Reed Exhibitions, the British Medical Association, Sanofi-Aventis, Telstra, California State University and the Australian Department of Defense.
Donegan-Ryan brings event technology domain expertise and experience working with event planners, and has previously worked for industry leaders Hopin, Swapcard and Cvent.
"I have followed EventsAIR for over a decade and am consistently impressed by the comprehensive breadth of its offerings,” Donegan-Ryan said. “EventsAIR now has a market-leading position serving the most complex in-person, hybrid and virtual events globally. I am thrilled to lead EventsAIR on the next phase of its evolution, collaborate with Trevor and the Riverside team, and support the industry for its exploding in-person comeback.”
Riverside Investment
Riverside will support EventsAIR with its international expansion plans and will drive the continued evolution of the product. Riverside said it will also selectively consider accretive mergers and acquisitions by targeting complementary event tech companies or expanding into adjacencies.
“Riverside views this investment as a highly compelling opportunity to build upon EventsAIR’s already impressive international footprint by targeting large and growing customer segments globally where the company has a clear competitive advantage,” said Riverside Managing Partner Simon Feiglin in a statement announcing the move. "In addition, we will further enhance the management team.”
EventsAIR founder Trevor Gardiner said the Riverside investment will position the company to maintain the momentum it created after adapting to the pandemic events landscape.
“Having quickly adapted to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, EventsAIR is ideally positioned to bring in a partner who can help accelerate our global growth ambitions,” he said. “We are delighted to be working with the Riverside team and look forward to this next exciting chapter in the company’s evolution.”
