Univision has hired former ESPN exec RICK ALESSANDRI as the network's Senior VP/Business Development. Alessandri, who will be based in N.Y. and report to Exec VP & COO RANDY FALCO, will be focused on developing new revenue streams for the network. He joins Univision after 10 years at ESPN, where he was Senior VP/Consumer Products & Managing Dir of X Games. He also was Senior VP/ESPN Enterprises & Consumer Products. Prior to ESPN, he was the VP & GM of SportsTicker, the online sports news reporting service (Tripp Mickle, SportsBusiness Journal). Meanwhile, Univision Television Group Exec VP/Advertising Sales KEVIN CUDDIHY has been promoted to Univision Television Group President (Univision).
BLEACHER SEATS: Bleacher Report has hired former CBSSports.com Senior VP/Advertising Sales RICH CALACCI as its Chief Revenue Officer, a newly created position. Calacci will be based in N.Y. and oversee the online outfit's ad sales team, including VP/Sales JOSH ABRAMS. Calacci has history with Bleacher Report, as CBSSports.com previously held a syndication pact with the online sports hub. "We were after someone with a lot of experience to further our relationships with top-level brands," said Bleacher Report CEO BRIAN GREY. "We see this as another big step forward for us" (Eric Fisher, SportsBusiness Journal).
NEW ESPN HIRE: ESPN hired CINDY FREED from Yahoo to be VP/Sales & Marketing for ESPN's customer marketing and sales group. Freed will report to Senior VP/Marketing Solutions SEAN HANRAHAN and Senior VP/Multimedia Sales TRICIA BETRON. Freed, who will be based in N.Y., will oversee ESPN's ad sales marketing group. Before Yahoo, Freed worked as VP/Business Marketing at USA Today and as a media planning supervisor at BBDO (John Ourand, THE DAILY).
EXECS: Momentum Worldwide has launched Momentum Sports in Brazil. The company will be lead by four co-Chairs: Momentum Worldwide CMO KEVIN MCNULTY, Momentum Brazil President MARCOS LACERDA, WMcCann Worldgroup Latin America Creative Chair Officer WASHINGTON OIVETTO and former racecar driver EMERSON FITTIPALDI (Momentum Worldwide)....SportsMark Management Group has opened an office in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and has named KEVIN SMITH Business Dir at the new location (SportsMark).
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