Menu
People and Pop Culture

People: Executive transactions

Baseball
The New York Mets named Harold Kaufman executive director of communications. Kaufman was senior counselor at The Ehrhardt Group, and before that was the longtime vice president of communications for the New Orleans Pelicans organization.

Basketball
The NBA named Matt Goodman vice president of team marketing and business operations. Goodman was vice president of corporate partnerships for the Cleveland Browns.

The Philadelphia 76ers promoted Ben Kessler to account executive.

College
American International College promoted Matthew Johnson to athletic director, effective July 1.

The Big East named Tania Kennedy director of championships. Kennedy was assistant director of championships for the MAAC.

The CIAA named Adrian Ferguson associate commissioner of media relations, effective July 1. Ferguson was assistant athletic director for media relations and manager of game operations at Fayetteville State University.

Texas A&M University promoted Kevin Hurley to senior associate athletic director for facilities and construction.

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi named Bill McDaniel assistant athletic director for external operations. McDaniel was director of corporate sponsorships and external relations at McNeese State University.

Virginia Tech associate athletic director for administration Jon Jaudon will leave his position.

Virginia Commonwealth University promoted Ed McLaughlin to associate vice president in addition to his duties as athletic director.

The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater named Amy Edmonds athletic director.

Wayne State College named Ryan Hix assistant athletic director for business management. Hix was a loan officer with Security Bank.

Western Washington University promoted Steve Brummel to associate athletic director for facilities and operations, and T.H. Kamena to assistant athletic director for compliance and academics.

Facilities
AEG named Rich Krezwick senior vice president of facilities. Krezwick was president of Devils Arena Entertainment.

AT&T Stadium senior vice president and senior adviser Bruce Hardy is stepping down.

Barclays Center named John Baier vice president of ticket sales for the New York Islanders as the team prepares to move to the arena in for 2015-16 NHL season. Baier was senior director of premium sales for the Brooklyn Nets.

Finance
Western & Southern Financial Group named Steven Kreider senior vice president and chief investment officer for Western & Southern and Fort Washington Investment Advisors. Kreider played eight seasons for the Cincinnati Bengals.

HONDROS
SunTrust Banks promoted John Hondros to managing director of the sports and entertainment specialty group, managing its Charlotte and Daytona Beach, Fla., offices.

Football
The Detroit Lions promoted Rob Lohman to assistant director of pro personnel and named Patrick Mularkey pro personnel coordinator.

The Canadian Football League’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers named Jason Smith general manager for the 2015 Grey Cup Festival and vice president of entertainment and events. Smith was managing director of the 2014 Juno Awards.

ESPN promoted John Saccenti to executive director of the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl.

The Philadelphia Eagles promoted Dom DiSandro to vice president of team security and Jake Rosenberg to director of football administration. The team also named Rick Mueller director of pro player personnel, Mike Bradway assistant director of college scouting, Joe Hastings pro personnel assistant and Matt Lindsey college scouting coordinator.

The San Francisco 49ers parted ways with chief technology officer Kunal Malik and named Fergus Connolly director of elite performance.

The Washington Redskins promoted Bruce Allen to president and general manager and Alex Santos to director of pro personnel.

Golf
The Tiger Woods Foundation named Rick Singer president and chief executive officer. Singer was vice president of client executive marketing for IBM.

Hockey

MCGOVERN
Drizly, a tech and app startup, named Kerry McGovern senior director of communications and media. McGovern was director of communications for the NHL.

The Ontario Hockey League’s Plymouth (Mich.) Whalers promoted Dennis Moore to president and chief financial officer of the Whalers and Compuware Arena, and Mike Henry to vice president and general manager of the arena. The team also named Mark Craig general manager.

The American Hockey League’s Springfield (Mass.) Falcons named Eric Lapointe executive vice president and alternate governor, and Sarah Pompea team president and governor. Lapointe was director of premium seating for the Florida Panthers.

The United States Hockey League named Bob Fallen president and commissioner. Fallen previously managed U.S. trade marketing for Reebok-CCM Hockey.

Horse Racing
The New York Racing Association named Lynn LaRocca senior vice president and chief experience officer, and Joseph Lambert general counsel. LaRocca was senior vice president of marketing for Modell’s Sporting Goods, and Lambert was executive managing director and general counsel for UnitedLex Corp.

CARPENTER
Marketing
U/S Sports Advisors named Josh Carpenter manager of merchandise sales.

Team One promoted Michael Resnick to management supervisor for experiential marketing. The company also named Kaitlin Kerns account executive and Taylor Brown account coordinator.

3 Point Productions named Scott Smith marketing coordinator.

DEFILIPPO
VALCQ
Lammi Sports Management named Becky Valcq general counsel. Valcq was regulatory counsel at We Energies.

Turnkey Sports & Entertainment named Gene DeFilippo adviser for college sports. Turnkey Intelligence named Erin Morris director of cultural and performing arts, and Britney Talty manager of client services. DeFilippo retired as athletic director at Boston College in 2012.

Wasserman Media Group announced co-managing directors of the global media division, David Kogan and Sara Munds, are leaving the company. Kogan and Munds co-founded Reel Enterprises, which was sold to Wasserman in 2011.

Motorsports
The NHRA promoted Bob Lang to senior director of safety and emergency services and Dave Mohn to director of the Northeast division.

International Speedway Corp. named Gentry Baumline-Robinson manager of corporate communications. Baumline-Robinson was communications manager for the Halifax Area Advertising Authority.

Speedway Motorsports Inc. promoted Donald Hawk to senior vice president of business affairs, James Scudder to senior vice president and chief accounting officer, Randall Storey to senior vice president and tax director, Cynthia Jacobson to senior vice president of human resources, J. Cary Tharrington IV to senior vice president, chief legal officer, general counsel and secretary, Michael Burch to senior vice president of national sales and marketing, and Braun Smith to vice president of sales.

Multiteam Companies
Madison Square Garden named Marc Miller director of marketing partnerships, focusing on the D-League’s Westchester (N.Y.) Knicks. Miller was in the global marketing partnerships division of the NBA.

Olympics
USA Swimming named Scott Leightman director of public relations and communications. Leightman was public relations director at Buffalo Communications.

USA Synchro named Rachel Hibner business and sport development manager. Hibner was marketing and social media coordinator for Vision Event Management.

USA Hockey named Rachel Schwartz social media and digital content coordinator. Schwartz was a digital producer with NBC Olympics for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Sporting Goods and Apparel
Footwear and apparel company Keen named Steve Meineke president. Meineke was chief executive officer for Accell North America.

Icebreaker, an outdoor apparel brand, named Rob Fyfe chief executive officer. Fyfe was executive chairman of the board for the company. Founder Jeremy Moon becomes executive chairman and creative director.

Spanx named Jan Singer CEO. Singer was Nike corporate vice president of global apparel.

Nike promoted Craig Zanon to vice president and general manager of global men’s training, and Michael Jackson to vice president and general manager of global basketball. The company also moved Marc van Pappelendam to vice president and general manager of Central and Eastern Europe, and Jim Reynolds to vice president and general manager of Japan.

2XU, an Australian performance sports and compression apparel company, named Scott Taylor its first president for United States business. Taylor was director of global brand marketing for Under Armour.

Sports Commissions and Tourism Boards
Richmond Region Tourism named Matt Robinette director of convention and sports services. Robinette was sports sales manager for the Virginia Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Other

SCIBETTI
TABATABAIE
Kore Software, a sports and entertainment customer relationship management solutions company, named Neda Tabatabaie vice president of best practices and Russell Scibetti vice president of product strategy. Tabatabaie was director of business intelligence and digital for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, and Scibetti was director of relationship and database marketing for the New York Jets.

Primeview USA, an advance displays company, named Yossef Jackson director of technical operations for North America. Jackson was a principal at Media2connect.

WWE named Chris Gesue director of integrated sales and talent brand management. Gesue was director of new business development at StarPower.

JADOTTE
President Barack Obama nominated Marcus Jadotte for assistant secretary for industry and analysis in the Department of Commerce. Jadotte was vice president of public affairs and multicultural development for NASCAR.

Korn Ferry named former NHL player Blake Geoffrion to its sports practice.

Awards and Boards
The NCAA Division I Men’s Lacrosse Committee appointed John Hardt as a member. Hardt is athletic director at Bucknell University.

PHILLIPS
The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics named its officers for 2014-15. The association named Northwestern University’s Jim Phillips president, Grand Valley State University’s Tim Selgo first vice president, University of Texas’ Chris Plonsky second vice president and University of North Carolina’s Bubba Cunningham third vice president.

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.


SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 18, 2024

Sports Business Awards nominees unveiled; NWSL's historic opening weekend and takeaways from CFP deal

ESPN’s Jay Bilas, BTN’s Meghan McKeown, and a deep dive into AppleTV+’s The Dynasty

On this week’s Sports Media Podcast from the New York Post and Sports Business Journal, ESPN’s Jay Bilas talks all things NCAA. Big Ten Network’s Meghan McKeown shares her insight into the Caitlin Clark craze. The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn chats all things Bean Town. And SBJ’s Xavier Hunter drops in to share his findings on how the NWSL is making a social media push.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2014/06/16/People-and-Pop-Culture/Careers.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Journal/Issues/2014/06/16/People-and-Pop-Culture/Careers.aspx

CLOSE