Cathy Griffin has been promoted to managing director at executive search firm Korn/Ferry International. Griffin, based at the company’s headquarters in Los Angeles, leads Korn/Ferry’s sports practice in Los Angeles and New York and works with the entertainment/media/convergence and consumer specialty practices.
Before joining Korn/Ferry, Griffin gained executive search experience in the areas of sports, entertainment, resort destinations, consumer products and retail at another global executive search firm. She has more than 20 years of industry experience in television sports, new media, publishing, consumer products, apparel/footwear and entertainment, and has worked for PepsiCo and Time Warner and served as a consultant with Nike.
Griffin was named one of the top 25 female sports executives in 1999 by SportsBusiness Journal. She is on the board of directors of the Gorge Games, is a founding board member of World Team Sports and is a seven-year veteran trustee of the Women’s Sports Foundation. Griffin earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing from Florida State University.
FOOTBALL
Ken Derrett was named vice president and chief marketing officer of the San Diego Chargers. Derrett will be responsible for all marketing and sales functions for the team. Derrett was the senior vice president for global marketing partnerships for the NBA.
COLLEGES
Gilbert Carter was named athletic director at Virginia Union University in Richmond after serving as director of property development and government relations at the school.
Charles McClelland, assistant to the dean and director of development in the school of architecture at PrairieView A&M University in Texas, was chosen athletic director at the school. McClelland has been a member of the university's Athletic Council for four years and radio color commentator on the Panther Sports Network since 1996. He was men's and women's golf coach at the school during the 1996-97 school year.
Chalese Connors was named athletic director at Texas Woman's University in Denton. Connors has been assistant director of media relations for the Southland Conference since July 2000 and formerly was an assistant athletic director and sports information director with the school.
Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho, chose Katherine Noble as athletic director.
Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, selected Stefanie Pemper as senior woman administrator. For the past four years, Pemper has been women's basketball coach at the school. John Cullen and Lynn Ruddy were elevated to associate athletic directors at the school. Cullen has been women's soccer coach since 1985 and also has worked as an assistant athletic director. Ruddy has been an assistant athletic director in addition to guiding the volleyball program since 1986 and serving as an assistant track and field coach and director of club sports.
Newbury College in Brookline, Mass., announced the selection of Andrea Bertini as senior woman administrator, women's basketball coach and men's and women's tennis coach.
Bob Rose, Teresa Kuehn, Daniel Coonan and Mark Stephens were hired as executive associate athletic directors at the University of California. Rose has been vice president of communications for Major League Baseball's San Francisco Giants, and Kuehn has been associate commissioner at the West Coast Conference. Coonan most recently was an assistant commissioner at the Pacific-10 Conference, and Stephens was a vice president at Debix Systems Inc.
Dennis Helsel was appointed associate commissioner of Conference USA. Most recently, Helsel was senior associate athletic director for external operations at Maryland.
John Williams, professional development program coordinator at the NCAA's national office, was elevated to associate director of championships. The office also hired Laura Donahue as membership services representative and David Hill as a membership services representative. Hill has been assistant athletic director and assistant football coach at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind.
BASEBALL
The Schaumburg (Ill.) Flyers of the independent Northern League have realigned their front office staff. Assistant general manager Tom O'Reilly was named to the newly created position of director of sales and marketing. Scott Boor was promoted to director of ticket operations from assistant ticket manager, while Eric Tholen takes over as director of baseball operations after spending the past year as assistant director.
BASKETBALL
The Philadelphia 76ers hired Jim VanStone as vice president for sales. VanStone returns to the Sixers' front office after serving as vice president of ticket sales for the Cavs/Gund Arena Co.
GOLF
Arnold Palmer Golf Management promoted Tour 18 Houston general manager Mike Shoelen to the position of area director for its Texas region.
PGA professional Steve Braley was named senior director of PGA Golf Properties.
KemperSports Management named Dan Tully superintendent of the Kemper Lakes Golf Course in Long Grove, Ill. Tully has been superintendent of White Hawk Country Club in Crown Point, Ind.
HOCKEY
Michael Barnett has been named general manager of the Phoenix Coyotes. Barnett, who signed a five-year deal with the Coyotes, becomes the sixth general manager in franchise history. He was previously president of International Management Group's hockey division.
The Amarillo (Texas) Rattlers of the Central Hockey League hired Denis Puska as director of media relations and broadcaster for the 2001-02 season. Puska has been the voice of the Great North Midget Hockey League's Kapuskasing Flyers for the past 10 years.
MOTORSPORTS
Gabrielle Stevenson was hired as media relations manager for the National Hot Rod Association. Stevenson was formerly a motorsports writer for the Contra Costa Times in California.
Jeff Fernandez was named assistant vice president of marketing partnerships for the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Indy Racing League. Fernandez is responsible for sales of all IMS and Indy Racing League products, including league marketing rights, television programming on ABC and ESPN, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Radio Network.
CSS Stellar North America appointed Jeff LaClaire director of motorsports. LaClaire previously headed motorsports sponsorships for WorldCom Inc. CSS Stellar North America is an independent sports management company in Great Britain.
TENNIS
The International Tennis Federation elected the following to its board of directors: Geoff Pollard (Australia); Ian King (Great Britain); Juan Margets (Spain); Eiichi Kawatei (Japan); Mervin Heller (United States); Christian Bimes (France); Eduardo Moline O'Connor (Argentina); Julia Levering (United States); Jan Carlzon (Sweden); Paul Chingoka (Zimbabwe); Georg von Waldenfels (Germany) and Ruurd de Boer (The Netherlands). Pollard, Bimes and Heller were named vice presidents. Margets was re-elected as ITF executive vice president, while David Jude was confirmed as honorary treasurer.
MARKETING
Hot Chillys hired activewear and sports bra specialist Jan Kimbrell as the women's product specialist and key account liaison. Kimbrell was formerly vice president at JogBra (now Champion). Kimbrell is charged with increasing the new System Sports Bra line's visibility in the marketplace and concentrating on the marketing and development of Hot Chillys' women-specific apparel. Hot Chillys is a performance apparel company.
Sophie Hoysted has been appointed development manager, Media Content Sports Media Advisors, part of Media Content PLC. Hoysted was formerly marketing manager for soccer's World Cup with marketing agency ISL.
Churchill Downs Inc. named two new members to its corporate development team. Jeffrey Mainka has accepted a position as vice president of corporate development, and Kevin Seidehamel is the new director of development. Mainka previously was a vice president with Bear Stearns & Co.'s Real Estate, Gaming, Lodging and Leisure Group. Seidehamel previously served as an investment banking associate with J.J.B. Hilliard, W.L. Lyons Inc. in Louisville.
Nike Inc. named Ben Watson creative director of its Global Apparel Brand. Watson will have the primary responsibility to develop and coordinate a cohesive, integrated global creative process from vision to retail presentation. Watson joins Nike from Vitra International, a European furniture design and manufacturing firm, where he was marketing director for Europe.
OTHER
Leonard Coleman Jr., former National League president and New Jersey commissioner of community affairs, was named chairman of Newark Sports and Entertainment, the organization trying to develop a downtown arena for the New Jersey Nets and Devils. Coleman was previously senior adviser to Major League Baseball.
James Gates Jr. has been appointed to the new post of vice president of administration at Churchill Downs. Gates will oversee the track's departments of finance, human resources, purchasing and information technologies. He previously served as vice president of development for Churchill Downs Inc., the parent company of Churchill Downs.
The Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment Commission announced that the following people joined its advisory board: Rand April, Skadden Arps Slate Meagher and Flom; Brad Cox, Cushman and Wakefield; David DeVito, Trust Company of the West; Helen Goss, city of West Hollywood; Steven Klappholz, The Shoah Visual History Foundation; Susan Loranger, Douglas Emmett; John Mass, William Morris Agency; Jonna Sabroff, ITS/Fox Limousine; Carl Schuster, Spago Beverly Hills; Heather Shuemaker, Saks Fifth Avenue, Beverly Hills; George Smith, George Smith Partners; Brenda Tinnen, Staples Center; and Cari Wolk, Athena Parking Inc.
Hornet Animation signed account executive Michael Coronado to handle West Coast sales as part of the company's expansion in spot business. Hornet develops, produces and creates high-end computer animation, visual effects and motion graphics for clients including the MLB New York Yankees, NBA Utah Jazz and NHL Atlanta Thrashers.
Gaylord Entertainment hired David Kloeppel as executive vice president and chief financial officer. He will be responsible for maximizing shareholder value and company growth. Kloeppel was most recently with Deutsche Bank.
Jean Davis-Barger has been named executive director of the 2003 World Figure Skating Championships. Davis-Barger is managing director of Event Resources, an entertainment consulting firm in the Washington-Baltimore region.
The Road Runners Club of America announced that David Dobrzynski has been selected as the national organization's executive director. Dobrzynski is a former executive at Nike and Reebok.
Christian & Timbers, a global executive search firm, announced Birgit "Bee" Westphal will lead its recently opened Chicago office as managing director. Westphal was previously managing director in the firm's Toronto office.
Bill Reader is the new commissioner of the Colorado High School Activities Association. Reader has been associate commissioner for the past six years.
John Ferguson III has been elected president of the Salesmanship Club of Dallas for 2001-02. The organization sponsors the Verizon Byron Nelson Classic each spring. Other officers elected include first vice president George Bramblett Jr., second vice president Rick Graham, secretary Ruben Esquivel and treasurer William Goodwin.
David Miller has joined Clayco Construction Co. to head the sports and entertainment division and its full-service architectural and engineering collaborative, Forum Studio. The division has completed NFL training facilities for the St. Louis Rams and Atlanta Falcons. The company also hired Kent Newsom as vice president of business development. Newsom was formerly director of national development for IFCO Systems.
FACILITIES
Northern Illinois University hired Mick Norwood and Joe Coots as associate director of facilities services and marketing manager of corporate sales for its $36 million Convocation Center, set to open next fall.
Minnesota Hockey Ventures Group LP made the following changes in its senior management team: Chris Hansen was named executive vice president of events, Jim Ibister was named vice president, general manager of RiverCentre, and Jack Larson was named vice president of operations for the Xcel Energy Center. Hansen will be responsible for securing and promoting events, attractions and shows for the Xcel Energy Center, RiverCentre and other venues within the organization. Ibister will focus on the overall operation of the RiverCentre, while Larson will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Energy Center.
AWARDS
Sports agent Leigh Steinberg was honored by the Orange County Human Relations Commission at its 30th annual anniversary gala for his positive contributions to society. Among his contributions is his insistence that his athlete clients give back to their communities through charity and his formation of his leadership institutes, which teach 100 middle and high school students how to be leaders in their communities. Steinberg was honored at a dinner Sept. 20 in Anaheim.