One of Australia’s biggest promoters, Chugg Entertainment, have announced that CEO and Co-Director Matthew Lazarus-Hall will be standing down from his positions at the company and will continue to work in a consultancy capacity only.
Lazarus-Hall helped start Chugg Entertainment in November 2004 and over the course of 11 years, helped it grow into one of Australia’s most successful promoters, with a full-time staff of 23 and a portfolio of tours including Coldplay, Robbie Williams, and more.
Working closely with partner Michael Chugg, Lazarus-Hall was instrumental in growing the company. A statement from Chugg Entertainment claimed Lazarus-Hall is stepping back to focus on his family and start his own consultancy business.
He will continue to run the CMC Rocks QLD festival operations; work with Laneway Festival across Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore; and be involved in other Chugg Entertainment specialist projects.
“It’s been a big 11 years at Chugg Entertainment and it’s never been dull,” said Lazarus-Hall. “Together, we have come leaps and bounds from where we began.”
“When I started with the business, I had a clear vision of what it could become and what I hoped to achieve in my time with the company and that has been accomplished.”
“I’m incredibly proud of the people that I have been on this journey with and in seeing them grow. The team is fantastic and I’m confident that they will continue to do great work for years to come.”
“I’m excited to continue working on the festival business, in a time where this part of the market is really doing it tough, this year, our two major festival properties have seen their best sales yet.”
Chugg Entertainment are not looking to fill Lazarus-Hall’s role at this time. Instead, Executive Chairman Michael Chugg will continue to run touring operations with General Manager of Touring Susan Heymann. Chugg Music and the company’s festivals will continue to run as normal.
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“Matthew has been an incredible business partner for the last decade, his vision for what Chugg Entertainment could become has seen the business grow significantly since he joined me in 2004,” said Chugg in a statement, in which he called the split “completely amicable”.
“Many of the great things we’ve achieved would not have been possible without him. While Matthew is stepping back, we have an incredible team at Chugg Entertainment and Chugg Music and an outstanding group of business partners that will continue to see the business go from strength to strength.”
“I look forward to continuing to work alongside Matthew as he consults back to the business in the future.” Meanwhile, Heymann commended the impact Lazarus-Hall has had on the company, saying “the entire team has enormous respect for Matthew as a leader”.
