Topps President & CEO RYAN O'HARA will step down next month, but will remain on company's BOD and serve as a strategic advisor, a move that essentially opens up the exec to other opportunities outside of Topps. Topps Chair MICHAEL EISNER hired O'Hara three years ago to run the company, following a stint as CEO of TV Guide Network. During O'Hara's tenure, Topps signed new deals with the NFL, MLB and EPL. "The timing is right for this, and we are set on an amazing path," he said (John Ourand, Staff Writer).
MEDIA PLAYS: ESPN Senior VP/Communications Counsel & Corporate Outreach ROSA GATTI will retire Feb. 28 after 33 years at the company. ESPN promoted Senior Dir of Corporate Outreach KEVIN MARTINEZ to VP/Corporate Outreach (CABLEFAX DAILY, 2/14). Gatti was named to SBJ/SBD's '13 class of "The Champions: Pioneers & Innovators in Sports Business" (THE DAILY)....NBCUniversal named USA Today Sports Media Group Senior VP & Head of Multimedia Sales PETER LAZARUS Senior VP/Cable Ad Sales. Lazarus previous worked for NBCU for nearly nine years as Senior VP/Sports & Olympics Sales Marketing (TVNEWSCHECK.com, 2/11)....MLB Network named former ESPN/ABC Sports Dir MIKE MARTIN Dir and promoted Senior Producers RICH CIANCIMINO and ETHAN KLEINBERG to Coordinating Producer (THE DAILY)....Fox Sports named ESPN Content Development Senior Dir of Strategy ROLANDA GAINES Dir of Strategic Marketing & Communications for FS South, FS Carolinas, FS Tennessee and SportSouth (Fox).
TEAM WORK: The Lions named JENNIFER CADICAMO VP/Marketing & Partnership Activation, WADE MARTIN VP/Corporate Partnerships and BEN MANGES Corporate Communications Dir (Lions)....Kroenke Sports & Entertainment yesterday named MLS Timbers Senior VP/Business Development & Broadcasting RYAN BRACH Senior VP/Partnership Marketing. Brach will oversee corporate partnerships with the Nuggets, Avalanche, NLL Colorado Mammoth and MLS Rapids (KSE)....The Wild named former NHLer ANDREW BRUNETTE Hockey Operations Adviser (STARTRIBUNE.com, 2/13)....The Single-A Midwest League Quad Cities River Bandits named Single-A South Atlantic League Charleston RiverDogs Assistant GM HAROLD CRAW GM (River Bandits)....The NLL Charlotte Hounds named Bobcats Inside Sales Consultant DAVID HUSON Ticket Sales Associate (Hounds).
EXECS: Easton-Bell Sports named BOD member TERRY LEE Exec Chair & CEO. The company also named Fenway Consulting Partners Managing Dir TIM MAYHEW President & COO. Lee succeeds PAUL HARRINGTON, who resigned (Easton-Bell)....British Olympic Association CEO ANDY HUNT is stepping down at the end of the month (REUTERS, 2/13)....WinSport President & CEO DAN O'NEILL has resigned. WinSport VP/Sport DR. STEPHEN NORRIS will take the position of interim President & CEO (CALGARYHERALD.com, 2/13).
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