Eric Baker (businessman)

Baker was born and grew up in Los Angeles.^{[clarification needed][1][2]} Baker graduated from Harvard College in 1995, and received an MBA from Stanford Business School in 2001.^{[3][unreliable source?]}

Baker worked for McKinsey & Company for two years, and then Bain Capital, a private equity firm in Boston.^[3][2]

A year after enrolling at Stanford, Baker co-founded StubHub in 2000 with classmate Jeff Fluhr.The idea came when Baker saw a Broadway play and struggled to buy secondhand tickets. He remembered the need for a more efficient way to buy these tickets and developed the idea during a Stanford competition.^[4][2] Baker and Fluhr withdrew from the competition after being chosen as finalists due to concerns that someone might take their idea.^[2][1] The two began to network with potential investors in the music and sports industries. By March 2000, the company was incorporated and five months later, the duo had raised $600,000 in seed funding.^[5] While Fluhr dropped out of Stanford to focus on StubHub full-time, Baker opted not to immediately join the company.^[6] While he was completing his MBA, the first version of the website launched without him in October 2000.^{[7][unreliable source?]} He rejoined StubHub as its president in 2001.^[8] However, Baker and Fluhr clashed on the direction of the company and Baker was fired from StubHub in 2004.^[6]

In 2006, Baker moved to London.^[6] Baker did not sign a non-compete with StubHub so was able to launch a new ticketing marketplace, Viagogo, later that year. Viagogo initially focused on Europe and launched with inaugural partners Manchester United and Chelsea Football Club.^[6] Baker has been its CEO since then.^[8] Baker owns Viagogo through his Delaware-based company, originally named Pugnacious Endeavors.^[9]

In 2020, Viagogo completed its acquisition of StubHub out of eBay, with the combined company rebranding as StubHub and Baker as CEO.^[6]

Baker purchased StubHub from eBay in February 2020 through Pugnacious Endeavors,^[10][11] which was later renamed to StubHub Holdings, Inc.^[12] Baker is the CEO of StubHub Holdings, Inc.^[13][8] United Kingdom regulators approved the merger in September 2021.^[11]

The purchase coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting pause in live events, which caused initial criticism of the deal. Forbes called the purchase ill-timed due to the pandemic causing cancelled tours, shows, and other live events.^[6] By 2024, audiences had returned and Stubhub had regained some marketshare that had been lost prior to the pandemic, but with high marketing expenditures.^[14]