Why six personnel moves caught my eye.
Dan Levy named CEO of Legends: In just a few months, Levy has earned high marks from staff for his style and substance, and I look for his approach to differ from former CEO Shervin Mirhashemi, who becomes vice chair after successfully diversifying the sports company. It was well known that Mirhashemi preferred Legends to remain behind the scenes and avoid any public positioning. But Levy seems more interested in storytelling, posting as much on LinkedIn: “I learned to read from the sports section of the Sacramento Bee. I learned math crunching box scores. My love of sports began before I remember.” He watched his teams while at Stanford and “sacrificed the fun of my senior year to build a better season ticket product,” which lasted a few years. Sports is obviously a passion, and he brings a diverse background in finance and tech, including 14 years at Meta, to Legends. Under Sixth Street’s ownership, the focus and goals of Legends have been sharpened, and the company has a lot of growth potential while sitting in an incredibly competitive market. I anticipate the external approach and profile of Legends to change under Levy’s leadership.
Adam Harter named CMO of LIV Golf: This one is easy, as LIV Golf landed one of the best marketing minds out there. Just look at Harter’s track record at Pepsi. He presses to be on the cutting edge and is never afraid to try new things. He’s done complex deals and been able to get everyone aligned and on board, getting the most senior leaders as well as the most junior people to believe in his path. Harter has also worked in very complicated, thorny situations, which will help in the ambiguous world of LIV, the PGA Tour and the rest of global golf. Finally, you won’t hear a negative word about him, as he’s seen as a genuinely good, honest and trustworthy person.
Shelly Cayette-Weston named president of business operations of Hornets Sports & Entertainment: After 12 years at the Cleveland Cavaliers, Cayette-Weston makes a big move and joins Rick Schnall and Gabe Plotkin in Charlotte as the two aggressively overhaul the organization. They first focused on basketball operations, bringing in a new GM and coach, as they must improve on the court. But Schnall and Plotkin also are pushing to grow revenue and become more sophisticated on the business side. That’s where Cayette-Weston comes in; she takes over for Fred Whitfield, who was well respected in the market and had connections throughout North Carolina but had stepped down recently. She will be stretched and pushed, but she’s well-regarded in league circles and comes to a great basketball market ready for a winner. She’ll need to be active and visible in the community, fully monetize the Spectrum Center’s $215 million renovation and follow the focus on growth that she successfully executed in Cleveland.
Radhika Duggal named CMO of MLS: The league turned to someone outside of sports with a background in consulting, finance and tech, with stops at Deloitte, Chase and Super.com, among others. One league insider told me they were drawn to her as a modern-day marketer who will use the digital world to establish one-to-one relationships with fans. She’ll have to empower clubs with new tool kits and platforms that they can use to grow their fan bases. While former CMO David Bruce, who went to work for his childhood club Sunderland AFC, was very adept at building the MLS brand, Duggal brings more of a digital mindset of where marketing is going. It’s never easy for an outsider to come into the sports business, but the growth mindset and passion for the game at the league office will help her understand the product and learn.
David Abrutyn named chief business officer for CAA Hockey: Abrutyn and I worked together in the early days of Sports Business Daily, and this role suits him well because he loves hockey. Yes, he will help grow CAA’s hockey business, but I’ll be watching how he can drive the players’ off-ice business ventures and marketing partnerships. He is unabashedly bullish on the league’s growth, its calendar of global events and the return to the Olympics, and has stressed that the game’s young dynamic stars should sit alongside their peers in other sports in their off-ice profile. Let’s see if he can get more hockey players into the level of partnerships, relationships and even media and content ownership that stars in other leagues enjoy.
John Dahl named senior vice president of content at NASCAR: The creation of NASCAR Studios and the new production facility in Concord, N.C., were two huge steps accelerating the company’s hope of better and broader storytelling across the sport. Landing Dahl to lead content and oversee the operation was further indicative of the sport’s big ambitions. He’s the real deal, with 11 Emmys and the co-creator of ESPN’s “30 for 30” series. Bottom line: NASCAR set itself up very well to significantly increase and improve its content.
Abraham Madkour can be reached at amadkour@sportsbusinessjournal.com.
