Baseball
The Class AAA Pacific Coast League’s Omaha (Neb.) Storm Chasers hired Rob Sternberg as marketing and promotions manager and Danny Dunbar as sponsorship sales executive.
Doug Newton was named radio broadcaster for the Class A South Atlantic League’s Delmarva Shorebirds of Salisbury, Md. Newton was assistant director of new media at the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore.
The American Baseball Coaches Association named Craig Keilitz executive director, effective July 1. Keilitz is athletic director at High Point (N.C.) University. He replaces father Dave Keilitz, who is retiring.
The Class A Midwest League’s Wisconsin Timber Rattlers hired Brittany Ezze and Emily Sommers in the group sales department, Aaron Johnson as stadium operations manager and Jake Hannes as head groundskeeper.
College
South Carolina State University named Athletic Director Charlene Johnson executive director of athletics fundraising, effective April 15.
The University of Houston hired Hunter Yurachek as associate vice president and chief operating officer for intercollegiate athletics. Yurachek was athletic director at Coastal Carolina University.
Northwestern State University hired Josh McDaniel as director of marketing and promotions. McDaniel was multimedia services manager at Louisiana Tech University.
Texas Christian University assistant athletic director for compliance Greg Featherston resigned.
Winston-Salem State University Athletic Director Bill Hayes retired.
Facilities
Pinehurst Resort hired Donald Bostic as director of national accounts for its group sales department. Bostic was golf sales manager for the Sawgrass Marriott.
Rossetti elevated Jonathon Disbrow and Denise Drach to associates of the firm.
Finance
Sports investment banking firm Accelerate Sports named Mark Sullivan managing director, Drew Davis vice president and Zuzana Bednarova director of business development.
Football
The Atlanta Falcons hired Scott Jenkins as general manager of the new Atlanta stadium, which is scheduled to open in 2017. Jenkins was vice president of ballpark operations of the Seattle Mariners.
The Carolina Panthers promoted Phil Youtsey to chief revenue officer and Chrystal Rowe to director of ticketing.
The San Francisco 49ers promoted Kevin Futagaki to partnership sales manager and Nate Racela to partnership sales and services coordinator and hired Reza Wiriaatmadja as partnership services manager and Kevin Hilton as partnership sales manager.
Golf
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HARRELL
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RUSSELL
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GREEN
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FISCH
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The
Greater Hickory (N.C.) Kia Classic at Rock Barn Champions Tour event promoted
Pete Fisch to associate tournament director,
Jim Green to sales director,
Leigh Russell to tournament manager and
Nate Harrell to tournament coordinator.
The PGA Tour hired Greg McLaughlin. McLaughlin was chief executive officer and president of the Tiger Woods Foundation.
Hockey
The New Jersey Devils and Prudential Center hired Adam Davis as executive vice president of corporate sponsorships. Davis was executive vice president of sports and entertainment sales with Madison Square Garden.
Horse Racing
The New York Racing Association named Frank Gabriel Jr. racing secretary for Belmont Park and Saratoga Race Course. Gabriel was chief executive officer of the Dubai Racing Club.
Marketing
Andrea Shaw launched marketing firm Torque Strategies. Shaw is founder and managing partner of Torque Strategies parent TwentyTen Corp. and was formerly vice president of sponsorship, sales and marketing for the Vancouver organizing committee for the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
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SIERT
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BLOOMER
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Learfield Sports named the following account executives:
Jeff Bloomer at Kansas State,
Ben Flora at South Dakota,
Justin Glover at Colorado,
Chris Krainik at Texas Tech,
Matt Siert at San Jose State and
Anna Young at Xavier.
Translation hired Nils Peyron as president and John Norman as partner and chief creative officer.
Visa hired Lara Potter as director of sports sponsorship relationships. Potter was vice president of communications and brand development for the Washington Nationals.
The Aspire Group hired Eric Yost and Jeff Kowalek as sales consultants at Middle Tennessee State University.
Johnny Alamo launched Johnny Alamo Entertainment, a marketing and talent representation agency. Alamo was executive director of partnerships and strategic alliances with Warren Miller Entertainment.
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HAGEDORN
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NICOLAIDIS
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LeadDog Marketing Group promoted
Shauna Sikorski to vice president of strategic marketing, partnerships and communications,
Elena Nicolaidis and
Rob Hagedorn to vice presidents of account management, and
Darius Naficy to client partnerships manager.
Roundhouse, a creative and digital advertising agency, hired Dave Burg as head of strategy. Burg was strategic planning director at Wieden & Kennedy.
Media
Telemundo Media promoted Eli Velazquez to senior vice president of sports.
DirecTV Sports Networks hired Steve Raymond as vice president of affiliate relations and named Jim Noel senior counsel. Raymond was senior vice president of national accounts for the Walt Disney Co. Noel was chief legal officer for the U.S. Golf Association.
Rogers Media hired Gord Cutler as senior vice president of NHL production. Cutler was executive producer for Canada’s Olympic Broadcast Media Consortium.
Back9Network hired Todd Schwarzschild as vice president of programming and production and named Gary Giulietti to its board of directors. Schwarzschild was with CNN International’s Special Projects Unit.
Silver Chalice promoted Dan Scalia to senior vice president of business development and hired Brian Maddox as vice president of advertising sales. Maddox was vice president of global digital sales for WWE.
Source Interlink Media named Scott Dickey chief executive officer. Michael Sullivan, who held the position, will shift his role to chief executive officer of Source Interlink Distribution.
Olympics
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ABDOU
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USA Water Polo hired
John Abdou as high-performance director and
Annalece Montgomery as marketing coordinator.
USA Triathlon promoted Chuck Menke to chief marketing officer.
Sporting Goods and Apparel
Nike hired Anthony Watson as chief information officer. Watson was managing director and chief information officer for Europe and the Middle East for Barclays Bank.
Tennis
The International Tennis Hall of Fame and Museum named Todd Martin CEO-designate, effective in April. Martin will succeed CEO Mark Stenning, who will step down in September.
Other
Fan experience technology company Experience hired Nick Young as senior director of new business development.
UFC hired Ember Morr as vice president of consumer products. Morr was director of product development for the NFL.
WWE promoted Tandy O’Donoghue to executive vice president of strategy and analytics.
InGate Solutions, a new division of Indiana Ticket Co., named Eric McClurg national sales manager and Rich Kinzler director of Eastern U.S. sales.
The 2015 Special Olympics World Games named Steven Vanderpool vice president of communications. Vanderpool was vice president and chief communications officer for Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles.
Awards and Boards
Howard Hitchcock, Lionel Racing senior vice president and general manager, received the inaugural Jostens’ Motor-sports Choice Award.
The Fiesta Bowl board of directors added Ray Artigue, Gonzalo de la Melena Jr., James Hatfield and Bob Whitehouse.
Foot Locker’s board of directors elected Steven Oakland as a director. Oakland is president of international, foodservice and natural foods of J.M. Smucker.
The Professional Hockey Players’ Association named Ted Nolan the 2014 recipient of the PHPA Distinguished Member Award, the association’s highest honor. Nolan is the Buffalo Sabres coach.
The Dutchess (N.Y.) County Regional Chamber of Commerce named Travis Tellitocci, Marist College senior associate athletic director, a Forty Under 40 honoree.
People news
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