From reluctant ticketing manager to Dubai events leader: The journey behind a live entertainment empire.
Dubai: Cosmin Ivan describes himself as a reluctant leader. Twice, when his boss offered him a promotion, he turned it down. Twice, he was eventually persuaded to take on the role.
Today, he leads Platinumlist, the Dubai-born ticketing and events platform that has expanded into more than 20 countries. Now, he has set his sights on transforming the company into the region’s next unicorn.
It is an unexpected journey for a man who, just 12 years ago, was scanning tickets at venue entrances and answering the second phone line whenever the founder was unavailable.
He shares the story behind his rise in the latest episode of The Hustle.
From Romania to Dubai
Ivan was born and raised in Romania, where he spent nearly eight years working in the ticketing and entertainment industry. His move to Dubai came after his sister, who worked for Emirates Airlines, spent two years encouraging him to visit the city. When he eventually arrived, he quickly found himself drawn to the opportunities it offered.
While searching for a job, he came across a Platinumlist vacancy that closely matched the work he had already been doing. At the time, he was speaking with his mother on Skype when he decided to apply.
“I need to stop. I need to apply for this job,” he told her. “It was like God sent, you know.”
He applied, received a response the same day and had what he described as a three-hour conversation rather than a traditional interview. He joined the company the following day.
At the time, ticketing was a niche industry, and experienced professionals were difficult to find. Ivan started as a cashier, scanning tickets, handling customer support and sharing phone duties with Platinumlist founder Vassiliy Anatoli in a small office of four or five employees.
Today, Platinumlist operates in more than 20 countries and spans six business areas, including ticketing, marketing, business events and team management — what Ivan describes as a “full ecosystem.”
The promotions he didn’t want
Ivan’s rise within the company was gradual and, by his own admission, not something he actively chased. He said company leaders repeatedly encouraged him to focus on doing good work and trust that opportunities would follow — advice he admits he did not fully understand at the time.
When he was first offered a promotion from ticketing manager to operations manager, he declined, feeling unsure whether he was ready for the responsibility. He was eventually persuaded to take the role, and years later, a similar situation unfolded when Anatoli suggested he become CEO. Ivan initially hesitated before accepting.
His approach to work is straightforward: give complete commitment or step aside.
“If you give your word, do it. And if you don’t want to do it, don’t just do it half measure… if you give your word that you will do something, do it 100 per cent, care about it like it’s yours,” he said.
He said his willingness to work long hours came from genuine dedication rather than obligation. He would often check ticket sales and event setups late at night simply because he wanted to ensure everything was running smoothly.
Day in the life of a CEO
That same energy continues to shape Ivan’s routine as CEO. His day begins around 6am with a quick check of his phone for any overnight issues, followed by breakfast with his wife — where he usually prepares the coffee — before heading to the office early.
“I like a day which is full, and there are things to do, problems to solve,” he said. “It makes you feel like you did something, and it’s really fulfilling.”
Ivan’s first experience managing an event came in 2015 at a music festival held at a golf club in Abu Dhabi. It was there that part-time staff members Arif and his brother Aziz showed him how the ticketing system worked.
Impressed by the way one of them handled the role, Ivan offered him a full-time position. That same employee now leads Platinumlist’s operations team.
Ivan is open about the demands of the events industry. Late nights and weekend work are part of the job, and he points out that events are often ranked among the world’s most stressful industries, alongside aviation and marketing.
“Whenever everybody is off, we are on,” he said, describing the post-event slump employees can experience once the excitement, adrenaline and team atmosphere fade away. For Ivan, handling the pressure requires a genuine passion for the work rather than simply putting up with it.
From paper tickets to predictive AI
The transformation Ivan has witnessed in the ticketing industry has been dramatic. As recently as 2013-14, tickets in the UAE were still printed on paper and required government stamping before they could be sold. At one point, Platinumlist hired temporary staff for a single day just to manually stamp 30,000 tickets.
That changed when Dubai’s tourism authority introduced a centralised digital ticketing system and gave ticketing companies a clear choice: integrate with the new platform or stop selling.
“Sorry guys, we can’t wait for you anymore,” was the message Ivan recalls.
Platinumlist became the first company to connect with the system, even placing a team member inside the government office to help troubleshoot the rollout. Ivan credits that move as a major turning point, helping the company evolve from a nightlife-focused platform into a broader events business covering concerts, sports, fashion and family entertainment.
Today, that digital foundation powers Platinumlist’s newer AI tools, which use 18 years of first-party sales data to help event organisers predict demand, estimate how well an artist may perform and decide where to allocate their budgets.
Rebuilding after regional tensions
When regional tensions disrupted the events calendar, Ivan said the company’s first priority was to contact every client and organiser, offering flexibility through rescheduling, postponements or cancellations where necessary.
Bookings initially declined before stabilising, then began recovering around a month and a half before the interview. Ivan attributed the rebound partly to government support and confidence-building efforts across Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar.
He said around 70 per cent of Platinumlist’s shows are now selling out, pointing to successful events such as sold-out performances by Angham and Rashed Al Majid in Abu Dhabi, as well as a 14,000-seat Majid Al Muhandis concert at Coca-Cola Arena.
International productions have taken longer to return, mainly due to logistical challenges involving shipping and travel. However, Ivan said most artists and organisers have preferred to reschedule rather than cancel, with many postponed shows now expected to take place during the third and fourth quarters of the year, alongside regular events such as Soul DXB and Off Limits.
What people will — and won’t — pay for
Rising living costs have not reduced demand for live events as significantly as expected, according to Platinumlist’s internal data.
However, spending patterns have shifted. Ivan said willingness to pay has declined for some categories, with EDM ticket prices falling by around half, while strong demand for Arabic and classical concerts has pushed average spending up by about 30 per cent.
A company survey found that nearly three-quarters of respondents still plan to attend live events.
Ivan’s conclusion is that audiences have not stopped spending — they have simply become more selective about which experiences they are willing to pay for.
Fighting scalpers and fake tickets
Ticket resale and scalping — a common complaint among event-goers on social media — remains a major focus for Ivan and his team. He said Platinumlist works closely with Dubai’s cyber police, holding weekly discussions to identify fraudulent websites and social media accounts impersonating the company and its event partners.
Over the past 18 months, the company says it has helped remove around 350 fake websites and pages.
Across the region, reselling tickets above their original price is illegal. To address this issue, Platinumlist introduced its “Ethical Resell” fan-to-fan exchange, allowing ticket holders to resell tickets at face value through the app, with payments released automatically once a transaction is completed.
Together with an encrypted QR code system that refreshes every 10 to 15 seconds, Ivan said these measures have helped reduce fraud by 85 per cent since their introduction.
The unicorn ambition
Platinumlist is developing a new product line that Ivan says has been in the works for three years. While he has not yet revealed details, he said the offering targets a market three times larger than entertainment itself, with an announcement expected within the next few months.
The company has also introduced Platinumlist.ai, a platform featuring around 27 AI agents designed to help event organisers improve efficiency. At the same time, Platinumlist continues to expand beyond its current footprint of more than 20 markets, having entered the UK two years ago and more recently launched operations in France and the Netherlands.
Ivan’s long-term ambition is clear: to turn Platinumlist into a unicorn — a privately held startup valued at more than $1 billion. He believes the company could achieve that milestone sooner than the five-year timeline often targeted by startups.
“With the blessing of God, and with hard work, and the right moves, Inshallah, we will reach there,” Ivan said.
The hardest lesson
When asked what becoming CEO has taught him, Ivan does not point to strategy or growth targets. Instead, he highlights people.
He believes strong talent exists everywhere but is difficult to find — and even harder to retain without genuine investment in their growth and development.
“A great leader, it’s not a great leader without the people,” he said, adding that the rapid pace of change, especially with the rise of AI, means leaders must remain curious and continue learning.
Off the clock
Away from work, Ivan describes himself as a passionate foodie who regularly attends the Dubai and Abu Dhabi food festivals.
He is also a fan of Soul DXB for its unique atmosphere and line-up, Off Limits for its outdoor experience and scale, and Abu Dhabi’s Al Hosn Festival — a heritage event held at the historic fort that was once Sheikh Zayed’s residence, where artisans recreate aspects of life from a century ago.
His next must-watch event is one he cannot reveal yet: “an unannounced show heading to Coca-Cola Arena.” Dubai will be waiting.
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