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People: Executive transactions

BERTSCHMAN
Baseball
The Miami Marlins promoted Ryan Bertschman to vice president of sales and service.

Minor League Baseball promoted Andy Schultz to assistant director of baseball and business operations, Cory Bernstine to senior manager of marketing strategy and research, and Amber Kukulya to senior manager of human resources. MiLB also named Paige Hegedus coordinator for special events and hired Ryan Foose as senior manager of brand development, Scott Ester as manager of partnership marketing, Curtis Walker as manager of business development and media, Christopher Walker as coordinator of e-commerce and merchandising, and Thomas Honed as manager of umpire technology.

The Class AA Texas League’s Frisco (Texas) RoughRiders hired John Alper as chief sales officer.

The independent Atlantic League’s New Britain (Conn.) Bees hired Gerry Berthiaume as general manager.

Basketball
The New York Liberty hired former player Swin Cash as director of franchise development.

The Minnesota Timberwolves hired Dwight Lutz and Nick Restifo as basketball operations analysts. Lutz was senior manager of game analytics and strategy for the NBA, and Restifo was associate data scientist for advanced analytics for Darden Restaurants.

The NBA D-League Delaware 87ers named Doug Hine chief revenue officer. Hine was chief revenue officer for the American Hockey League’s Albany Devils.

Colleges
The Eastern College Athletic Conference named Dan Coonan president and chief executive officer. Coonan, a former Santa Clara University athletic director, was executive director of development for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

The Patriot League hired Emily Parkins as director for championships and sport management. Parkins was a coordinator of playing rules and officiating for championships and alliances at the NCAA.

The University of Alabama named Greg Byrne athletic director, effective March 1. Byrne, vice president for athletics at the University of Arizona, will replace Bill Battle, who will become special assistant to the president.

Virginia Military Institute promoted Lenny Brown to assistant athletic director for facilities and compliance and Klay Killingsworth to director of athletics equipment services.

Baylor University hired Jeramiah Dickey as associate vice president for athletic operations. Dickey was deputy athletic director at the University of Houston.

Central Michigan University promoted Orville Jennings to associate athletic director for facilities and event operations.

Georgia Tech hired Jeff Keisler as associate athletic director for annual giving and engagement in the Alexander-Tharpe Fund. Keisler was associate athletic director for sales, service and ticket operations at Oregon State University.

Iona College promoted Rick Cole Jr. to vice president of athletic administration.

Kansas State University hired Kevin McCarty as director of digital media. McCarty was interactive web designer at the University of Kansas.

Kennesaw State University promoted Mindy Mager-DeBruce to assistant athletic director for compliance and Title IX coordinator and Jay Bailey to assistant athletic director for football and equipment operations.

Kent State University promoted T.J. Christie to director of revenue enhancement and fan engagement, and hired Phil Tizio as assistant director for compliance. The school moved John Hardesty to assistant director for compliance and Alicia Gaffney to associate director in the advancement events department. Jim Hofbauer stepped down from the position as assistant athletic director and director of athletic advancement, and Kristin Reed stepped down as assistant athletic director and eligibility coordinator.

Miami University promoted Coleman Barnes to executive associate athletic director and senior director of development, Chase Speaks to assistant athletic director for intercollegiate camps and athletic facilities management, and Stephanie Davis to assistant athletic director for athletic event and guest services.

The University of Missouri named Howard Richards assistant athletic director for community relations.

The University of New Haven hired Jessica Roque as associate athletic director for NCAA compliance and student welfare. Roque was assistant athletic director for compliance and academics at Queens College.

The University of Notre Dame hired Angie Torain as associate athletic director for human resources, legal and risk management. Torain was deputy athletic director and senior women’s administrator at the University of the Incarnate Word.

Oakland University named Fleetwood Fleming assistant athletic director for development.

Western Illinois University hired Darian Westerfield as senior associate athletic director for administration. Westerfield was general manager for Oakland Sports Properties at Oakland University.

The University of South Carolina promoted Jeff Crane to executive associate athletic director.

Texas A&M University named Lori Williams a senior associate athletic director.

Tulane University hired Garrett Broom as assistant athletic director for development. Broom was director of development at the University of Wisconsin.

Virginia Tech hired Omar Banks as senior associate athletic director for finance and administration and chief financial officer. Banks was executive senior associate athletic director for internal affairs and chief financial officer at the University of Cincinnati.

Wagner College promoted Tatum Colitz to associate athletic director and senior woman administrator.

West Virginia University named Ben Murray senior associate athletic director and executive director of the Mountaineer Athletic Club.

Western Kentucky University hired Nick Uhlenhopp as assistant athletic director for football operations, Laura Thomas as director of player development and Zach Grant as director of player personnel.

Facilities
Daytona International Speedway hired Josh Harris as senior director of ticketing and guest services and Stephen Sweeney as senior director of marketing and communications. Harris was director of ticketing for Talladega Superspeedway, and Sweeney was vice president of marketing and operations for bowlingball.com.

Dover International Speedway promoted Gary Camp to assistant vice president of marketing and communications and Rob Lofland to assistant vice president of business development.

Speedway Motorsports Inc. promoted Mike Burch to chief strategy officer and Braun Smith to vice president of national sales and marketing.

Football
The Tennessee Titans promoted Jon Robinson to executive vice president and general manager.

Golf
The PGA Tour promoted Jared Rice to executive director of The Players Championship. Rice replaces Matt Rapp, who was named senior vice president of Championship Management, where he will oversee PGA Tour-owned and operated tournaments.

The Minnesota Section of the Professional Golfers’ Association hired Jeff Hintz as chief executive officer of the section and its foundation. Hintz served as director of the 41st Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National Golf Club.

Hockey
The American Hockey League’s Chicago Wolves promoted Anthony Krzyzak and Mike Czopek to sales development managers for inside sales.

KNEBEL
The Arizona Coyotes hired John Knebel as executive vice president of corporate partnerships and premium seating. Knebel was senior director of corporate partnerships for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Marketing
Lagardère Sports promoted Geoff Garmhausen to vice president of team sports.

Lammi Sports Management named Kyle Emina an account manager.

IMG Media promoted Adam Kelly to head of global sales.

Media
Discovery Communications hired Alex Kaplan as executive vice president of commercial for Eurosport Digital. Kaplan was senior vice president of global media distribution for the NBA.

MEHTA
FoxNext, a newly created division of Twentieth Century Fox Film and Fox Networks Group, named Salil Mehta president. Mehta was president of content management for Twentieth Century Fox Film.

NBC Sports promoted Jim Bell to president of NBC Olympics production and programming and executive producer for Telemundo World Cup; Gary Zenkel to president of NBC Olympics and business; Sam Flood to executive producer and president of production for NBC and NBCSN; Dave Pietrycha to chief financial officer and senior vice president for NBC Sports Group; Kevin Lappen to senior vice president of sports sponsorships, strategy and digital sales for NBC Sports Group; and Kevin Conroy to vice president of media sales for NBC Sports’ market-facing team.

Skyview Networks promoted Lloyd Hyman, Kim Ball and Karen Henderson to vice president of sales.

Univision Communications promoted Rosemary Mercedes to executive vice president and chief communications officer.

COY
GameChanger MVP Productions hired Matt Coy as executive vice president and general manager. Coy was senior director of content and production for the San Diego Padres.

Motorsports
Chip Ganassi Racing hired Mark McArdle as competition director. McArdle was with Roush Fenway Racing.

John Force Racing hired Lee Montgomery and Michael Harker for its public relations staff.

Multiteam Companies
Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment promoted Tom Bowden to vice president of ticket sales and service for the Brooklyn Nets, and Kirk King to vice president of group sales and Mandy Gutmann to senior director of communications. The company hired Peter Vesey as vice president of global partnerships and Anthony Zucconi as director of team marketing. Vesey was senior vice president of global agency partnerships at UFC, and Zucconi was in marketing and community relations at Madison Square Garden. Barry Baum stepped down as executive vice president and chief communications officer.

Soccer
Orlando City SC promoted Niki Budalic to general manager of soccer operations for Orlando City, Orlando Pride and Orlando City B.

JANNETTA
FC Dallas promoted Melissa Jannetta to senior director of business development.

The USL’s Harrisburg (Pa.) City Islanders Football Club named Tiago Lopes president.

Sporting Goods and Apparel
Brooks Running Co. promoted Dan Sheridan to executive vice president and general manager for global sales.

Lamkin Corp. hired Steve Stach as director of worldwide tour operations.

Under Armour hired Lance Allega as vice president of investor relations. Allega was head of investor relations and strategic accounts for VF Corp.

CAVALLARI
Zero Friction hired Chris Cavallari as global business director. Cavallari was director of corporate sales for Wilson Sporting Goods.

Tennis
The International Tennis Federation hired Steve Wilson as executive director of communications and international relations and Tim Stemp as executive director for commercial. Wilson was European sports editor for The Associated Press, and Stemp was associate director for Infront Sports and Media.

Tennis Canada named Michael Downey chief executive officer, effective July 2017. Downey held the same position from 2004 to 2013.

The U.S. Tennis Association hired Kevin Mahoney as managing director of digital. Mahoney was vice president of partner solutions for Major League Baseball Advanced Media.

Other

JOHNSTON
WILLIAMS
GoVision promoted Jeff Williams to vice president of operations and Kristy Johnston to vice president of finance.

Like A Pro named Chris Jacobs managing director of global strategy. Jacobs also joined the organization’s board of advisers.

The Women’s Sports Foundation named Grete Eliassen president and Lisa Baird, Sasha DiGiulian and Andrea Perez to the board of trustees.

Dimensional Innovations hired Drew Berst as director of collegiate sports and fan experience solutions. Berst was director of development for sports for AECOM.

Nitro Circus named Lauren Reilly vice president of digital product marketing, Nick Crooks vice president of digital business development and distribution, Remi Guyton vice president of digital content and programming, and Charley Daniels director of content marketing.

FanDuel hired Stacie Stern for its government relations team. Stern was with Head2Head Sports.

World Surf League Chief Executive Officer Paul Speaker is stepping down from his position, but will remain a co-owner of the league.

STREIT
The National Center for Drug Free Sport hired Sam Streit as a drug testing program manager.

Primeview hired Jesse Walsh as business development manager. Walsh was a West Coast sales representative for Pacific Coast Visions.

UFC promoted James Kimball to vice president of operations of its Performance Institute, being built in Las Vegas.

Awards and Boards
The U.S. Olympic Committee named seven-time Paralympic medalist Dr. Cheri Blauwet to its board of directors.

J. America named Faust Capobianco IV, former Majestic Athletic president, to its board of directors.

USA Triathlon named Michael Jones, professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, to its board of directors.

Combate Americas named Joe Plumeri as its non-executive board of directors chairman.

The World Golf Foundation named LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan chairman for 2017.

People news
To have your personnel announcements included in the People section, please send information and photos to Brandon McClung at 120 W. Morehead St., Suite 310, Charlotte, NC 28202, or email them to careers@sportsbusinessjournal.com. Electronic photos must be a jpg or tiff file for Macintosh, 2.25 inches wide at 300 dpi. Color only, please. News items may also be sent via fax to (704) 973-1401. If you have questions, call (704) 973-1425.


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