Sports Business Daily: Executive Transactions

Range Sports has hired FanDuel Sports Network VP and Head of Content Partnerships & Acquisitions BEN BERCHUCK as SVP/Media Rights Consulting. He will report to Range Sports Head of Media Rights Consulting DAVID STERNBERG. Prior to FDSN, Berchuck worked on live sports partnerships and programming...

The Dallas Mavericks named KIERAN KELLIHER chief financial officer. Kelliher was vice president of finance and administration with the Chicago Bulls.

The Univ. of Memphis named GABRIEL HARRIS as the men’s basketball program’s first GM. Harris spent three seasons with G League Stockton Kings, including the last two as GM after joining the organization as assistant GM prior to the 2023-24 season. Prior to that, Harris spent nine years with Adidas a...

SIMON WARDLE, who spent nearly three decades in sports marketing, including 23 years in market research at Octagon, has retired. Wardle most recently served as chief strategy officer. Wardle said he notified Octagon CEO JOHN SHEA in early February (David Broughton, SBJ).

The NWSL has hired BRIAN KELLY from Top Rank Boxing as Chief Commercial Officer and RACHEL EPSTEIN from ESPN as CMO. Kelly and Epstein will assume responsibilities previously housed under JULIE HADDON, who held the combined role before departing in May 2025. Kelly begins his duties Wednesday, while ...

The NWSL has filled two key vacancies within its leadership ranks, hiring Brian Kelly from Top Rank Boxing as chief commercial officer and Rachel Epstein from ESPN as chief marketing officer. Kelly and Epstein will assume responsibilities previously housed under Julie Haddon, who held the combined r...

The Florida Panthers have hired MICHAEL WHITE from Amazon-owned robotaxi company Zoox as their new president of business operations. White, who previously spent 11 years at Disney, replaces MATT CALDWELL, who left the organization last summer to become CEO of the T’Wolves and Lynx. Other high-level ...

The NFL has hired CLAUDIA TERAN, a former in-house lawyer for Snap and the Fox Corp., as its new deputy general counsel and SVP. Teran is stepping into a position that had been vacant since mid-2024, when Deputy General Counsel/Media & League Business Affairs JANET NOVA left. Teran will report t...

Oregon State AD SCOTT BARNES, who had four years remaining on his contract, will serve in his role “until August 31, when he’ll retire and become a senior advisor for athletics through Aug. 31, 2027” (Portland OREGONIAN, 2/26).

Former Fresno State football player and local entrepreneur CHRIS PACHECO will serve as President of Bulldog Sports Enterprises. BSE’s team will be rounded out by VP/General Manager RYAN O’RORKE, Partnership Account Manager NICO PACHECO and Partnership and Broadcast Services Manager ENRIQUE LOERA (Be...

Nielsen named former SVP/Sales & Head of Turner Sports Digital SETH LADETSKY Head of Global Sports; and NBCUniversal EVP/Digital Sales & Partnerships TREVOR FELLOWS Head of Advertiser/Agency. The org also promoted MATTHEW DEVITT to Head of National. All three will report to Global CRO AMILCA...

ARTHUR BLANK has hired MAURICIO CULEBRO as president of soccer for AMB Sports & Entertainment, a role in which he will oversee all aspects of both Atlanta United and Atlanta’s forthcoming NWSL expansion team. The role is Culebro’s first in the U.S. following two decades of experience at the high...

Longtime MLB executive JIM SMALL is retiring on May 1 after more than 40 years in baseball, both with teams and as president of the World Baseball Classic for the past three years. JEREMIAH YOLKUT will take on leadership of the World Baseball Classic, with his title changing from SVP/Global Events t...

Mercedes named Team Representative & Chief Communications Officer BRADLEY LORD Deputy Team Principal of the F1 team. Lord joined Daimler in 2011 in a “motorsport-facing communications role,” which saw him “move over to Mercedes’ Formula 1 team in 2013 when TOTO WOLFF became boss.” He was named h...

The Dallas Wings named CLINTON JENKINS vice president of accounting and finance. Jenkins was director of accounting for the Washington Commanders.

Cal State Fullerton AD JIM DONOVAN announced his decision to retire, effective July 31. In recognition of his leadership Donovan has been named VP/Intercollegiate Athletics. Donovan was named AD in Dec. 2012 after spending four years as AD at the Univ. of Hawaii. He had a previous tenure at Hawaii f...

DAN LEIBOVITZ has been named the sixth commissioner of the Atlantic 10 and will begin his tenure on May 4. Leibovitz replaces BERNADETTE MCGLADE, who announced her retirement in November. He comes to the A-10 from the Big East, where he has served as Senior Associate Commissioner/Men’s Basketball si...

On Location has hired former NFL exec KATIE KEENAN to lead its Olympics and Paralympics business. Keenan starts Wednesday as EVP/Olympics and Paralympics Hospitality and will be based in N.Y. before relocating to L.A. this summer. She replaces WILL WHISTON, who left On Location last year before the ...

WTSL named WIN Sports Group’s JOSH PYATT Partner. Pyatt, who joined WIN in an undisclosed role last year after leaving WME, will also lead WIN’s new division, WIN Artists, and represent LIV golfer BRYSON DECHAMBEAU. A 2018 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree, Pyatt will help WIN Artists clients -- like SHAQU...

Spurs Sports & Entertainment named JAMES SUH CFO, reporting directly to CEO RC BUFORD. Suh last served as CFO of the Florida Panthers. Prior to that, Suh spent more than a decade with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment where he held various roles including VP/Finance (SS&E).