The Clippers Thursday named Auto Club Speedway President Gillian Zucker President of Business Operations. Zucker joined the speedway in '05 and led all aspects of its business operations, including ticketing, finance, communications and marketing (Clippers). In L.A., Bolch & Peltz report Zucker, who becomes the "only female chief executive or president in major U.S. professional sports" besides Lakers Exec VP/Business Operations Jeanie Buss, represents Steve Ballmer's "first major hire as owner of the Clippers since purchasing the team in mid-August." Ballmer made clear he "wanted someone to run the team's business operations full time." Zucker takes over the role "long held by Andy Roeser, who was nudged out by the NBA last spring after releasing a statement in support of Donald Sterling at a time when the embattled owner was under fire for making disparaging comments about black people." Zucker while at Auto Club Speedway used "aggressive promotions aimed at children and minority groups, along with a variety of ticket packages, to boost sales and attendance." Zucker was "known as a demanding boss, a relentless promoter and an eternal optimist even as the speedway endured turbulent times" (L.A. TIMES, 11/7). Also in L.A., Louis Brewster notes Zucker "guided the track through some tough times, linked to the sagging economy in Southern California." After a four-year absence by the Verizon IndyCar Series, she "convinced the open-wheel sanctioning body to end its season in Fontana, surpassing attendance expectations in the process" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 11/7).
CHANGE OF PACE: In L.A., Melissa Rohlin writes Ballmer since buying the team has "seemingly done anything and everything to disassociate the team" from the Sterling era, and the decision to hire Zucker "only puts more distance between the team's old leadership and its new one." Ballmer began "differentiating himself -- and the Clipper organization -- from its past as soon as he took over the team." His "first act as owner was to throw Clippers fans a free party at Staples Center." Ballmer's presence at games also "couldn't be more different than Sterling's." Ballmer sits baseline near the Clippers' bench, and "screams his head off, cheering and clapping for his team." He is apparently "trying to create a whole new reputation and feel for the Clippers, attempting to shed the negative pall that was cast over the team by its former owner." Hiring Zucker is his "most recent act aimed at creating a new franchise, one that makes headlines for its basketball play, and not its internal strife" (L.A. TIMES, 11/7).
