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People and Pop Culture

People: Executive transactions

Baseball
The St. Louis Cardinals promoted Ron Warner to assistant field coordinator, Dane Sorensen to director of baseball development, Jeremy Cohen to director of baseball analysis and systems, and Patrick Casanta to manager of baseball systems.

The Class AA Eastern League’s Akron (Ohio) RubberDucks hired Jody Sellers as director of ticket sales; James Phillips as executive chef; Zach Aaron as coordinator of creative services; James Parsons as assistant director of ballpark operations; Dominic DeMarco, Kyle Hixenbaugh and Thyran Nowden as ticket sales executives; and Brandon Fish, Jeff Bell, Joe Mayancsik, Lisa Roos, Rik Segel and Tyler Liles as ticket associates.

The Class AA Southern League’s Pensacola (Fla.) Blue Wahoos named Tony Atchley vice president of sales.

Colleges
Baylor University named Doug McNamee senior associate athletic director for external relations. McNamee was senior associate athletic director for development for the Baylor Bear Foundation.

Wagner College hired Joe Varga as assistant athletic director for athlete performance. Varga was director of strength and conditioning for the Marshall University men’s basketball team.

Troy University named Tony Ferrante senior associate athletic director for facilities and operations, and Sandy Atkins added the title of deputy athletic director for internal operations to her role as senior woman administrator. The university hired Brent Jones as deputy athletic director for external operations and Kyle George as associate athletic director for marketing and sales.

Esports
The Philadelphia 76ers hired Sookjo Park as manager of esports business development for their franchise, Team Dignitas.

Facilities
Michigan International Speedway hired Jason Lucas as director of marketing and communications. Lucas was director of consumer marketing at Daytona International Speedway.

Comcast Spectacor promoted Kim Damron to president of its Spectra Ticketing and Fan Engagement team, Steve Demots to chief revenue officer, Craig Ricks to senior vice president of marketing and Christian Lewis to vice president of business development.

Financial
MJC Partners hired Carlton Jenkins as president in its financial services group. Jenkins was a partner with The Yucaipa Cos.

Golf
The LPGA’s Symetra Tour promoted Dave Lafrennie to vice president of corporate partnerships and administration and Tim Kramer to senior director of tournament business affairs.

Marketing
The Aspire Group promoted Kyle Brannigan and Meghan King to service consultants at Army and hired Amanda Paratore as a sales and service consultant at the University of South Florida, Maggie Sprague as a sales and service consultant at the University of Massachusetts and Cole Long as a sales consultant at Army.

Sporting Goods and Apparel
Adidas named Aaron Maines director of soccer sports marketing. Maines was vice president of global soccer for Wasserman.

Sports Commissions and Tourism Boards

MERCER
BROWN
TYLER
The Greater Columbus Sports Commission promoted Ariana Tyler to events manager, Laura Brown to marketing coordinator and Michelle Mercer to business development coordinator.

Ticketing
DTI Management hired Rey del Valle as chief financial officer. Del Valle was senior vice president of finance for AXS Ticketing.

Other

GUINTY
The National Center for Drug Free Sport promoted Chris Guinty to president and chief executive officer.

Bellator hired Ryan Grab as senior director of communications and athlete strategy. Grab was director of communications for Phoenix International Raceway.

Awards and Boards
The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association named Ken Neal, a Fox South and SportsSouth producer, the recipient of the WBCA Mel Greenberg Media Award.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame named to its board of trustees Kim Metcalf-Kupres, Johnson Controls’ chief marketing officer; hall of famer Anthony Muñoz; and Amy Adams Strunk, Tennessee Titans controlling owner.

Lands’ End named Bob Bowman, MLB president of business and media, to its board of directors.

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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