Executive Transactions
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Hearst Corp. Hires Kliavkoff, Who Will Oversee
Digital Business In Entertainment, Syndication |
Hearst Corp. named former NBC Universal Chief Digital Officer GEORGE KLIAVKOFF as its Exec VP and deputy group head of Hearst Entertainment & Syndication. Kliavkoff in the role will oversee Hearst's digital businesses in the entertainment and syndication division, as well as aid in the management of Hearst's minority stakes in ESPN, Lifetime and A&E, among other assets. Within the digital portion of the job, Kliavkoff will focus heavily on developing and buying companies on behalf of Hearst. "I'm really interested in the vision of [Hearst CEO] FRANK BENNACK JR., and [Hearst Entertainment & Syndication President] SCOTT SASSA, and I think it's really good to be a private company out there investing long-term right now, like this one is," said Kliavkoff, who played a significant role in the Hulu online video joint venture between NBC and Fox. "It's tough to do a lot of forward-looking investments in a public company in this environment when there's so much pressure on earnings reports and markets and so forth." Prior to joining NBCU in '06, Kliavkoff led business development for MLBAM (Eric Fisher, SportsBusiness Journal).
EXECS: In St. Petersburg, Bill Varian reports Tampa Sports Authority (TSA) Exec Dir HENRY SAAVEDRA yesterday "tendered his resignation rather than face a vote on his ouster." A "sharply divided" TSA BOD voted 6-5 to "accept the resignation, agreeing to grant Saavedra six months of pay and benefits as severance, at a cost of $171,871." The resignation marked the end of Saavedra's 24-year career at the TSA, 12 of which he spent as Exec Dir. Varian notes criticisms of the TSA have come as Hillsborough County "has sought more say in Sports Authority affairs, from pushing for greater financial oversight to forcing" Raymond James Stadium to hire county paramedics for Buccaneers games (ST. PETERSBURG TIMES, 3/17)....Wieden & Kennedy (W&K) named W&K London Exec Creative Dirs TONY DAVIDSON and KIM PAPWORTH Partners, marking the first new partners in the agency in 13 years. The move gives Davidson and Papworth a "stake in W&K and a share of its profits." The promotion also marks the first time W&K co-Founder & CEO DAN WIEDEN "has made partners of anyone from outside the global headquarters of W&K in Portland" (Manchester GUARDIAN, 3/17)....The Coyotes named TIM PARZYBOK Corporate Partnerships Account Exec (Coyotes).
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