This week in the sports media and marketing ecosystem, NASCAR’s new president was named, The Athletic goes on a basketball hiring spree, and The Ringer signs a star from Golden State to boost its social content team.
For job openings and more on who’s moving where, check out the Hashtag Sports Weekly roundup.
David Katz, founder and former CEO of ThePostGame, will join Fox Sports as executive vice president of digital. In his new role, Katz will be responsible for managing the company’s digital business, overseeing content and distribution. Prior to creating ThePostGame, he served as head of Yahoo! Sports, Entertainment, and Studios, and is credited with the launch of their first original content division.
As the car racing association’s president, Brent Dewar played a key role in the marketing push of the sport’s young talent after Dale Earnhardt and several other driver’s announced their retirement. Dewar will transition into a senior advisory role, and Steve Phelps, who currently serves as chief operating officer, will become NASCAR’s new president at the end of the month.
After nearly six years of overseeing and managing content for the Golden State Warriors, Julie Phayer has announced that she will be joining Bill Simmons’ staff at The Ringer. In her new role, Phayer will focus primarily on social and content.
The subscription-based sports site turned to the basketball community to bolster a roster that already includes big-time names like David Aldridge and Shams Charania. Frank Isola, who’s often seen across ESPN programming and formerly of the New York Daily News, is joining The Athletic to cover basketball in The Big Apple. They’ve also secured USA Today’s Sam Amick, Zach Harper (@talkhoops), and several other team-focused writers. The moves have clearly agitated local outlets (see: Joe Vardon at the center of a Cleveland sports media feud).
The sports apparel company announced the additions of Alessandro de Pestel as chief marketing officer and Ann Funai as senior vice president of engineering. Most recently, De Pestel worked with Tommy Hilfiger, and Funai served as the chief technology officer at the SaaS company, PeopleAdmin. With their combined experience Under Armour hopes to sharpen its strategic marketing and expand digital touchpoints to further drive global growth.
The global partnership marketing agency of Lagardère Sports has announced Dominic Curran as its new executive vice president. As part of Lagardère Plus’ leadership team, he will be responsible for all relationships in the agency’s New York office. Curran previously served as the U.S. CEO for Synergy, a sports and entertainment marketing agency, and was also the first global director of sports for Bacardi brands.
David Newman, who has served as the New York Mets senior vice president of marketing and communications since 2005, will be stepping down at the conclusion of this season. In the interim, Newman will consult with a number of sports and entertainment companies.
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