Australian Football League side Collingwood recruited CHRISTINE HOLGATE, "one of Australia's leading chief executives," to its board. The addition of Holgate, "British-born boss of booming ASX-listed supplements empire Blackmores, means two women will sit at the top table of power at the AFL's most iconic club for the first time" (THE AGE, 2/1). ... FIFA exec committee member KOZO TASHIMA "was elected" as the next Japan FA president on Sunday.
Tashima, the current VP, "won 40 of the 75 eligible votes in the JFA council" while his opponent, General Secretary HIROMI HARA, had 34. There "was one blank vote in the JFA’s first-ever presidential election."
Tashima "will formally take office on March 27," when he replaces KUNIYA DAINI on a two-year term.
A former technical director and general secretary, Tashima "has steadily climbed through the ranks at the JFA." One of the issues Tashima hopes to tackle as president "is the much-debated switch to a fall-spring" J.League season, to coincide with the European season (KYODO, 1/31). ... The ATP World Tour promoted the following: ROSS HUTCHINS to chief player officer; MARIO VERGARA to VP of player relations; DAVID MASSEY to exec VP/ATP Europe, running the organization's Monte Carlo office; ERIC STARELLI to senior VP/sales; MARIA GARCIA PLANAS-ALBERT and FABIENNE BENOIT to senior managers for PR and marketing; and CRISTINA YOSHIZAWA and STEPHANIE NATAL to managers of player relations. The organization also named RYAN O'KEEFE manager of sales and sponsorship management, ARNAU BRUGUES ATP Challenger Tour manager and LOULOU ROWLANDS coordinator for player relations in the London office (THE DAILY). ... Hockey Canada named former '15 Toronto Pan Am Games Organizing Committee Senior Manager of Commercial Rights Management CHRISTOPHER DOYLE manager of business development and partnerships (THE DAILY). ... Swedish FA VP LARS-CHRISTER OLSSON announced ERIK HAMREN said that "he will step down as Sweden coach after Euro 2016." Olsson said Hamren "confirmed that he would leave after the tournament in France," a decision that had been widely expected (ESPN, 2/1). ... MICHAEL M. SCHMIDT is the new director, corporate communications at Infront Sports & Media, a group company of Wanda Sports Holding. He will oversee the refinement and implementation of the global corporate communications and brand strategy, leading the existing team at the headquarters in Zug, Switzerland. Alongside him, NIKE MÖHLE, newly promoted to associate director, corporate communications, will hold the position of deputy head of corporate communications and continue to act as a spokesperson. Schmidt joins Infront from the Sauber F1 Team, where he acted as marketing director and exec board member responsible for marketing, sponsorship and communications (Infront). ... ESPN appointed former London Guardian Head of Client Sales SAM COLEMAN as advertising sales director within the U.K. Coleman will be responsible for leading the company’s U.K. team servicing ESPN’s digital portfolio including ESPN.co.uk, ESPNcricinfo and ESPN FC. He will be based at the sport content company’s offices in London and report to EMEA Group Director of Advertising Sales ALAN FAGAN. Coleman has more than 13 years’ experience in the industry. Coleman’s remit will also include leveraging ESPN’s recent acquisition of digital rights for Int'l Cricket Council events through '19 (ESPN).
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