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People: Executive transactions

Baseball
The Class AAA Pacific Coast League’s Omaha (Neb.) Storm Chasers hired Mark Wilhelm as ticket package executive.

The Class AA Southern League’s Pensacola (Fla.) Blue Wahoos hired Evangeline Leventhal as director of ticket sales.

Basketball
The New Jersey Nets named Milton Lee general manager of their NBA Development League affiliate, the Springfield (Mass.) Armor. Lee was director of basketball operations for the Nets.

The San Antonio Spurs hired Matt Herring as director of athletic performance. Herring was strength and conditioning coordinator for the University of Florida men’s basketball and men’s and women’s golf programs.

Colleges
The Atlanta Basketball Host Committee named Communications 21 President Sharon Goldmacher executive director of the Atlanta Local Organizing Committee for the 2013 NCAA Men’s Final Four.

Campbell University hired Chris Hemeyer as athletics marketing coordinator. Hemeyer was director of broadcasting and public relations for the Kinston Indians of the Class A Carolina League.

Ithaca College hired Michelle Manning as assistant director of athletics for business and scheduling. Manning was senior woman administrator and softball coach at Transylvania University.

Kennesaw State University hired Brenda Stopher as associate athletic director for business affairs.

Loyola University Maryland named Christopher Archacki as director of athletic business operations. Archacki has worked in the school’s department of recreational sports for 14 years.

Old Dominion University named Andrew Rowdon assistant athletic director for marketing. Rowdon was assistant director of athletic marketing at LSU. The school also promoted Carol Hudson, Tina Price and Brady Orvik to assistant athletic directors, Kim Zivkovich to associate director of athletic communications, Eric Bohannon and Dustin Semonavick to assistant directors of communications, Jackie Barrow to community relations coordinator, Paul Briggs to director of video services and Chrisie Brown to director of creative services.

Stetson University hired James Stem as director of operations. Stem was general manager of the DeLand Suns of the Florida Collegiate Summer League.

The University of Wyoming hired Randy Welniak as senior associate athletic director for development and revenue enhancement. Welniak is senior vice president for Wyoming State Bank in Laramie.

The West Coast Conference promoted Scott Leykam to senior associate commissioner for external relations and Colleen Lim to senior associate commissioner for governance and administration.

The Atlantic 10 Conference promoted Jill Redmond to assistant commissioner and hired Jay DeFruscio as associate commissioner.

Bloomsburg University named Mike McFarland athletic director. McFarland was associate athletic director for facilities and event operations at Bucknell University.

Fort Lewis College hired Gary Hunter as athletic director.

Georgia State University hired Tiffany Daniels as senior associate athletic director for external affairs. Daniels was director of business development for the Georgia Dome.

The University of Illinois named Mike Thomas athletic director. Thomas was athletic director at the University of Cincinnati.

Illinois State University hired Justin Recktenwald as director of development and sales. Recktenwald was assistant director of development for the University of Louisville’s Cardinal Athletic Fund.

San Jose State University named David Sabolcik associate athletic director for development. Sabolcik was assistant athletic director for development, director of annual giving and the executive director of the Lobo Club at the University of New Mexico.

Seattle University promoted Shawn Farrell to associate athletic director for compliance services.

Temple University promoted Eric Roedl to deputy athletic director, Kristen Foley to senior associate athletic director and senior women’s administrator, Larry Dougherty to senior associate athletic director for communications, Sherryta Freeman to senior associate athletic director for compliance and student services, Scott Walcoff to associate athletic director for marketing and sales and Harry Metzinger to assistant athletic director for finance and administration.

Towson University promoted Dan O’Connell to director of athletic media relations.

The U.S. Coast Guard Academy named Timothy Fitzpatrick athletic director. Fitzpatrick was athletic director at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi.

Wake Forest University named Randolph Childress assistant to the athletic director.

Kentucky Wesleyan College named David Williams athletic director. Williams was athletic director at Missouri Western State University.

The Big East Conference named Shane Harrison digital media assistant.

Facilities
Center Operating Co., the entity that manages American Airlines Center, hired Tara Green as chief revenue officer.

AEG named Doug Hall general manager of the new Houston Dynamo Stadium. Hall was general manager and vice president of the Toyota Center and Houston Rockets.

The Barclays Center of Brooklyn named Jackie Alvarez as an artistic programming consultant.

Football
The New York Giants promoted Pat Hanlon to senior vice president of communications and Peter John-Baptiste to vice president of communications.

The San Diego Chargers promoted Bryan Cox to assistant director of college scouting and Tricia Campanella to coordinator of football administration.

The Miami Dolphins hired Michael Tannenbaum as marketing partnerships staff assistant.

The Arena Football League’s Chicago Rush promoted Ryan Simmons to executive vice president.

Golf
The LPGA named Kraig Kann chief communications officer. Kann was an anchor for Golf Channel.

Hockey

Zager
Kalinowski
The Los Angeles Kings promoted Mike Kalinowski to senior manager of communications and Jeremy Zager to manager of communications and broadcasting.

The Tampa Bay Lightning named Brad Lott executive vice president of service and operations, Mike Harrison director of new business development and Greg von Schottenstein director of game operations.

True North Sports & Entertainment hired Mitch Brennan as director of ticket administration for the Winnipeg Jets. Also, the Jets hired Jimmy Roy as director of player development.

The Minnesota Wild named John Rizzardini senior vice president of ticket sales and service. Rizzardini will oversee database-marketing efforts, and will have executive oversight of the American Hockey League’s Houston Aeros. Rizzardini was chief operating officer for the Seattle Seahawks and First & Goal Inc.

The ECHL’s Bakersfield (Calif.) Condors named Ryan Holt media relations and broadcasting manager. Holt was play-by-play broadcaster and head of media relations for the NAHL Corpus Christi (Texas) IceRays.

Stuart Ballantyne stepped down as chief operating officer for the Western Hockey League’s Vancouver Giants.

Law
Ryan Davis, a partner at Bryan Cave LLP, will lead the firm’s new sports, sponsorship and event venue group.

Marketing
XOS Digital hired Derek Gamble as vice president of strategic digital partnerships for the Eastern region, William Morris as director of strategic digital partnerships for the Central region and Mike Wozney as director of strategic digital partnerships for the Eastern region.

Intersport hired Dan Bowen as vice president of production and development and executive producer. Bowen has been a producer and executive producer with ABC and ESPN for the past nine years. Intersport also hired Don Gorski as senior vice president of media sales. Gorski was executive vice president of sales for Winnercomm Sports.

Buffalo Communications promoted Gary Trask to public relations manager.

Ignition promoted Daniel Dao to senior vice president and hired Robert Howell as vice president.

Hamilton
Mohile
Levy
Scout Sports and Entertainment hired Adam Levy as account supervisor, Nandita Mohile as account executive and Nick Hamilton as account coordinator.

Media Ventures Group hired David Cohen as vice president of digital strategy and business development.

The Marketing Arm named Kevin Holt vice president of business development for its retail and event marketing practice. Holt was managing director and strategist for Paceline Consulting.

Augs-Kleinman
Generation Z Marketing hired Ben Agus-Kleinman as an account manager.

Matt Dianella joined CAA’s communications department. He was a senior account supervisor at Hill & Knowlton.

SJX Partners hired Steve Devcich as an account executive. Devcich was manager of marketing partnerships for the Chicago Sky.

Media

Madara
Golf Channel hired Jay Madara as chief financial officer. Madara was vice president of business intelligence at Comcast Cable.

AudioNow hired George Cernat as chief marketing officer.

Competitor Group promoted Neal Rogers to editor-in-chief of Velo.

Steve Maich was named publisher and editor-in-chief of Sportsnet magazine. Maich was most recently group publisher of Rogers Publishing’s consumer business magazines.

Learfield Sports named Andrew Stuebner general manager for its Black Bear Sports Properties at the University of Maine. Stuebner was director of sales for CSL Marketing Group.

Hazan
Fenton
Juma Entertainment moved head of production and executive producer Lewis Fenton to its New Hope, Pa., offices to help expand its sports television production and hired Michael Hazan as head of development/West Coast and co-executive producer.

Sidearm Sports hired Dave Meluni as vice president of sales and marketing. Meluni was senior account executive for Syracuse IMG Sports Marketing.

Multiteam Companies
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment promoted Karen Vuong to manager of media sales and service, Kirk Cornelius to manager of media sales, Vanessa Reidt to supervisor of traffic for media sales and service, and named Matt Bloom to media assets coordinator.

Sunrise Sports & Entertainment hired Patrick McGrew as senior vice president and general manager of the BankAtlantic Center. He will also oversee the Saveology.com Iceplex. McGrew was general manager for the BankUnited Center at the University of Miami.

Olympics
The International Olympic Committee appointed Gunilla Lindberg as chair of the coordination commission for the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Soccer
The Chicago Fire hired Atul Khosla as senior vice president. Khosla was vice president of commercial and business operations for Alli Sports.

Sporting Goods and Apparel
Aspen Skiing Co. hired Christian Knapp as vice president of marketing. Knapp was head of marketing for Keystone Resort.

Adidas named Jim Gabel Adidas group president, Canada. Gabel was president of Reebok North America. Uli Becker will now oversee the day-to-day operations for Reebok North America in addition to his role as Reebok brand president.

Buckman
Callaway Golf promoted Tim Buckman to vice president of global communications.

New Era Cap Co. promoted Barbara Noyes to vice president of global headwear, Joshua Cherin to director of brand accessories and Kelli Coppola to global director of brand marketing. The company also hired Dennis Green as senior director of apparel, Clint Perez as director of North America marketing and Steve Wolf as director of merchandising.

Nautilus promoted William McMahon to chief operating officer.

Tennis
Kevin Clayton stepped down as U.S. Tennis Association chief diversity and inclusion officer.

The ATP World Tour named Marc Harris properties director. Harris was head of sports sponsorships/Europe for Momentum.

Awards and Boards
The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association elected Florida State University coach Sue Semrau vice president.

University of Wisconsin deputy athletics director Sean Frazier was named chairman of the Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee for the 2011-12 season.

Keith Hamilton was elected as chairman and president of the International Bowling Museum and Hall of Fame.

The National Sporting Goods Association re-elected Jeff Brusati and elected Dale Donaldson to the board of directors.

Palihapitiya
Chamath Palihapitiya joined the Golden State Warriors ownership group as an executive board member. Palihapitiya was an original member of the Facebook management team as well as founder and managing partner of The Social+Capital Partnership.

The Florida Panthers named Cliff Viner chairman and president of the Florida Panthers Foundation. Viner is general partner, chairman and chief executive officer of the Panthers.

People news
To have your personnel announcements included in the People section, please send information and photos to Brandon McClung at 120 W. Morehead St., Suite 310, Charlotte, NC 28202, or email them to careers@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Electronic photos must be a jpg or tiff file for Macintosh, 2.25 inches wide at 300 dpi. Color only, please. News items may also be sent via fax to (704) 973-1401. If you have questions, call (704) 973-1425.

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