Rick Adams
THEN: President, East Coast Hockey League
NOW: CEO, Lemond Bikes
Bill Allard
THEN: COO, SFX Sports
NOW: Co-founder, Wheels Up
Mark Bartelstein
THEN: President/founder, Mark Bartelstein and Associates
NOW: Founder and CEO, Priority Sports & Entertainment
Patrick Battle
THEN: President/COO, Collegiate Licensing Co.
NOW: Managing partner, Stillwater Family Holdings
Seth Berger
THEN: Founder/president, And1
NOW: Managing partner, Potential Capital VC
August Busch IV
THEN: VP, marketing, Anheuser-Busch Cos.
NOW: Director, The BackStoppers, a St. Louis-based charity
Brian Cashman
THEN: GM, New York Yankees
NOW: SVP/GM, New York Yankees
Dockery Clark
THEN: SVP, national director, Olympics, sports and event marketing, Bank of America
NOW: Partner, BlueCap Marketing
David Cope
THEN: EVP, Washington Redskins
NOW: Sponsorship sales consultant, Mascot Hall of Fame
Lee Ann Daly
THEN: SVP, marketing, ESPN
NOW: Master’s student, University of Southern California
Mark Dowley
THEN: CEO, Momentum Worldwide
NOW: Chief operating partner, RedBird Capital Partners
Kathy Francis
THEN: VP, marketing, MLB
NOW: Chair/president, WISE
Tony George
THEN: President, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corp.
NOW: Former chairman and president, Indianapolis Motor Speedway Corp.
Tom Glick
THEN: GM, Lansing Lugnuts
NOW: Managing director, Rockledge Sports Advisory
Shawn Hunter
THEN: President, Phoenix Coyotes
NOW: Co-founder/managing partner, Chicago Dogs
Michael Huyghue
THEN: SVP, Jacksonville Jaguars
NOW: President, Michael Huyghue & Associates; consultant to Jacksonville City Council
Gary Jacobus
THEN: SVP, IMG
NOW: President of business development, ASM Global
Brian Jennings
THEN: VP, consumer products marketing, NHL Enterprises
NOW: Chief brand officer, NHL
Bill Johnson
THEN: Design principal, Ellerbe Becket
NOW: Design principal, HOK
Michael Jordan
THEN: Athlete
NOW: Co-owner, 23XI Racing; minority owner, Charlotte Hornets
Lesa Kennedy
THEN: EVP, International Speedway Corp.
NOW: Executive vice chair, NASCAR
Joe Leccese
THEN: Attorney, Proskauer Rose
NOW: Chair emeritus, Proskauer
Jon Litner
THEN: SVP/COO, ABC Sports
NOW: CEO, YES Network
Kevin McClatchy
THEN: Owner, Pittsburgh Pirates
NOW: Co-chairman, amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research
Dan Meis
THEN: Design principal, NBBJ Sports and Entertainment
NOW: Director, global sports design, AECOM
Marla Messing
THEN: President/CEO, Women’s World Cup
NOW: Former interim commissioner, NWSL
Percy Miller
THEN: Founder, No Limit Inc.
NOW: Founder, Guttar Music Entertainment
Susan O’Malley
THEN: President, Washington Sports & Entertainment
NOW: Senior instructor, sport and entertainment management, University of South Carolina
Curtis Polk
THEN: EVP, SFX Sports Group; COO, F.A.M.E.
NOW: Investor, 23XI Racing
Jeffrey Pollack
THEN: VP, marketing and corporate communications, NBA
NOW: Professor of practice for the McCormack Department of Sport Management, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Jeff Price
THEN: VP, U.S. sponsorships and events, Mastercard International
NOW: Chief commercial officer, PGA of America
George Pyne
THEN: VP, marketing, NASCAR
NOW: Founder/CEO, Bruin Capital
Bob Reif
THEN: VP, sales and marketing, Miami Dolphins and Pro Player Stadium
NOW: Founder/CEO, The Audible Group
Geoff Reiss
THEN: SVP, programming and production, ESPN Internet Ventures
NOW: Chairman, StreamLayer
Wendy Selig-Prieb
THEN: CEO, Milwaukee Brewers
NOW: Board member, Delaware North Cos.
Jeff Shell
THEN: President, Fox Sports Net
NOW: Chairman, sports and media, RedBird Capital Partners
Daniel Snyder
THEN: Owner, Washington Redskins
NOW: Former owner, Washington Commanders
Andrew Sturner
THEN: President, corporate and business development, SportsLine.com
NOW: Co-founder and managing partner, Entourage Effect Capital
Rob Tilliss
THEN: VP, global sports finance group, Chase Manhattan Corp.
NOW: Founder/CEO, Inner Circle Sports
Stacy Wall
THEN: Creative Director, Wieden & Kennedy
NOW: Director, Imperial Woodpecker
■■■■
Forty Under 40: Where are they now?
Marla Messing
After serving on the LA 2024 (later 2028) Bid Committee, Marla Messing (Class of 1999), former president and CEO of the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup, continues to be a force with the world of American soccer. Starting in the fall of 2021, she helped clean up the NWSL’s scandal as interim CEO; oversaw the sale of the Washington Spirit to one of the franchise’s minority owners, Michele Kang, for what was then a record $35 million; hammered out the league’s first CBA with its players association; and engineered NWSL expansion plans and a number of new sponsorship deals with the likes of Delta, Nike and crypto platform Voyager. Messing also had served as CEO of Southern California for the USTA.
Since stepping away from the league in spring of 2022, Messing said she’s had “an active couple of years as a go-to resource for investors and others seeking to become involved in the world of women’s soccer, and other sports teams. — Terry Lefton
