NBA President of League Operations JOEL LITVIN, one of the league's longtime top execs, will leave the organization on Sept. 1. Litvin is stepping down after 27 years with the NBA. He has been involved in all of the key business operations and initiatives of the NBA, including collective bargaining and salary cap administration, and he was chief architect of the NBA’s revenue-sharing system. He also worked closely with the NBA BOG and various ownership committees on all team matters, including team sales and relocations while reporting to NBA Commissioner ADAM SILVER. “It is as simple as wanting to run something on my own,” Litvin said, adding that he has not decided on what his next job will be. “It holds great appeal to me. I have been discussing with Adam over the past couple of months my desire for new challenges. Now that he has made his very successful transition, he and I agreed it was the right time.” No replacement yet has been named. Litvin will serve as a consultant to the league after he leaves in September. Silver in a release announcing the news said, “Joel has been central to the NBA’s operations and growth for more than a quarter of a century. We are deeply grateful for his exceptional efforts and accomplishments throughout his distinguished NBA career and we’ll really miss him.”
FILLING A NEW POSITION: The NBA has named Korn/Ferry Senior Partner ORIS STUART the league’s first Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer. Stuart, who began yesterday, reports to NBA President of Administration BOB CRIQUI. Stuart is responsible for overseeing diversity and inclusion strategies for the NBA, WNBA and D-League. Stuart for the past two years led Korn/Ferry's diversity and inclusion practice. Stuart was with consulting firm Global Novations as CEO prior to Korn/Ferry buying that company in '12.
