Forty Under 40: Class of 2020

Marc Bryan-Brown

TJ Adeshola

THEN: Head of U.S. sports, Twitter
NOW: Operating partner, Arctos Partners

Whit Albohm

THEN & NOW: SVP/executive producer, studio production, Fox Sports

Nic Barlage

THEN: President, business operations, Cleveland Cavaliers and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
NOW: CEO, Cleveland Cavaliers, Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse and Rock Entertainment Group

Michael Behan

THEN: VP, collegiate partnerships, Legends
NOW: President, Legends College

Gabe Braselton

THEN & NOW: Principal/senior architect, Populous

Austin Brown

THEN & NOW: Co-head, basketball, CAA Sports

Nate Checketts

THEN & NOW: CEO/co-founder, Rhone

Arjun Chowdri

THEN: Chief innovation officer, PGA of America
NOW: SVP, membership and retention, Hagerty

Ahron Cohen

THEN: President/CEO/alternate governor, Arizona Coyotes
NOW: Managing director, Inner Circle Sports

Wes Day

THEN: Partner/chief strategy officer, Teall Capital Partners
NOW: CEO, RevelXP

Bethany Donaphin

THEN & NOW: Head of league operations, WNBA

Michael Fedele

THEN & NOW: VP, marketing, BodyArmor

Geoff Garmhausen

THEN: VP, team sports, Lagardère Sports
NOW: VP, team sports, Sportfive

Jessie Giordano

THEN: SVP, client consulting and services/head of GMR, San Francisco, GMR Marketing
NOW: Chief partnership officer, GMR Marketing

Ishwara Glassman Chrein

THEN: Head of sports partnerships and business development, Verizon Media / Yahoo Sports
NOW: Former president, Chicago Fire FC; adjunct professor, sports management, Columbia University

Adam Grossman

THEN & NOW: CMO, Boston Red Sox / Fenway Sports Management

Ben Gumpert

THEN: President/COO, Sacramento Republic FC
NOW: Chief strategy and growth officer, Elevate

Brian Herbst

THEN & NOW: SVP, media and productions, NASCAR

David Jurenka

THEN & NOW: SVP, NFL Media/GM, Los Angeles, NFL

Nick Kelly

THEN: VP, partnerships, beer category, and community, Anheuser-Busch InBev
NOW: VP, partnerships, Verizon

Akshay Khanna

THEN: GM, sports, StubHub
NOW: Co-founder/CEO, Jackpot

Francesca Leiweke-Bodie

THEN: President, business development/board member, Oak View Group
NOW: Chief operating officer, Oak View Group

Joe Maczko

THEN & NOW: SVP/assistant general counsel, NBA

Andrea Marini

THEN: Deputy CEO/group CCO, Deltatre
NOW: CEO, Deltatre

Joseph Markowski

THEN: EVP, North America, DAZN
NOW: Adviser, DAZN

Zach Maurides

THEN & NOW: CEO/founder, Teamworks

Maura McGreevy

THEN: SVP, corporate communications, IMG
NOW: Chief communications officer, Endeavor

Jared Merrell

THEN & NOW: Managing director, Optimum Sports

Tanja Olano

THEN: General counsel/VP, LA 2028
NOW: Chief administrative and legal officer, LA28

Melissa Proctor

THEN & NOW: EVP/CMO, Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena

Uzma Rawn

THEN: VP, global corporate partnerships, MLB
NOW: SVP, global corporate partnerships, MLB

Neema Sahni

THEN & NOW: Partner, commercial litigation, Covington & Burling

Brent Schoeb

THEN & NOW: CRO, San Francisco 49ers

Adam Schwartz

THEN & NOW: SVP/director of sports media investment, Horizon Media

Russell Scibetti

THEN & NOW: VP, strategy and business intelligence, New York Giants

Ari Segal

THEN: CEO, Immortals Gaming Club
NOW: CEO, Siprocal

Ryan Spoon

THEN: SVP, digital and social content, ESPN
NOW: President, Yahoo Sports

Jared Stacy

THEN & NOW: Director, global live sports production, Amazon

Ben Tario

THEN: Deputy commissioner/CFO, legal and business affairs, ACC
NOW: Deputy commissioner/CFO, business administration, ACC

Shelly Wilkes

THEN: President, Lakeland Magic
NOW: EVP, marketing and social responsibility, Orlando Magic

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Memories of Forty Under 40

TJ Adeshola

Operating Partner, Arctos Partners

When I was named Forty Under 40, my first memory was an immediate flashback to my time (a longgg time ago) as an intern in Bristol, Conn., at ESPN. As a young TJ Adeshola, I was determined to seize the opportunity not only to work in sports but to carve out a unique and distinguished path in the industry. The achievement was truly a full-circle moment for me.

Additionally, I fondly recall my friends joking, “Are you sure you aren’t 40 yet? Can I check your ID?” It added a humorous and memorable touch to the honor … while reminding me that I may or may not need new friends (haha).

What memories do you have of the Forty Under 40 awards gala?

Hot take, but I absolutely believe that I had one of the most electric tables in recent years. Our crew was rocking! My guests included Amazon TNF sideline reporter and Turner Sports host Taylor Rooks; CCO of Transmit Bo Han; TNT sportscaster Adam Lefkoe; Brantlee Fields, formerly head of athlete partnerships at Twitter; and VP of Global Talent at Peloton Hayes Grooms. It was an amazing evening. And I felt unending gratitude to my friends and colleagues for showing up to support me in such a big way.