Industry appointments round-up: December 1-7

A round-up of key appointments from within the sports and events industries over the past week.

Cori Gadbury has been named as vice-president of marketing for Banc of California Stadium Entertainment (BOCS Entertainment). BOCS Entertainment is a division of Los Angeles’ Banc of California Stadium (pictured), which opened earlier this year and serves as the home of Major League Soccer team Los Angeles FC. Gadbury previously spent 15 years working for Live Nation and she will report to BOCS Entertainment president Adam Friedman in her new role.

MLS team New York City FC has announced Brad Sims as its new chief executive. Sims will join the club in January ahead of the 2019 MLS season and will be responsible for all aspects of the organisation on a day-to-day basis and lead front-office staff. Sims joins NYCFC after spending six years at NBA basketball team the Cleveland Cavaliers, where he served as executive vice-president of franchise operations and chief revenue officer, overseeing revenue areas such as ticket sales, premium seating and hospitality, corporate partnerships and database marketing and analytics.

Mark Waller is to depart his role as executive vice-president of international at the NFL American football league. Waller will work with Christopher Halpin, who has been named as the league’s executive vice-president and chief strategy and growth officer, until the end of the season to transition leadership of the international team. Waller, who joined the NFL in 2006, will then take on a new role as senior advisor.

Marissa Pace has taken up a new role as chief marketing officer at World Rugby. Pace will join the organisation’s newly-formed marketing department in mid-January and will oversee fan engagement and marketing strategies as rugby continues its global expansion. Pace has a wealth of sports marketing experience, having pioneered a digital marketing strategy for the Formula One motor-racing series. Pace has been running her own consultancy business since 2015.

Jon Ridgeon has been appointed as the new chief executive of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). Ridgeon is a former British record holder and silver medallist in the 110m hurdles at the 1987 World Championships. Since retiring he has set up and run successful businesses in sport and was also responsible for the commercial transformation of British Athletics. He will take up his new role in March 2019.

Do you have news of an appointment that we should know about? Get in touch by emailing news.editor@thestadiumbusiness.com and we’ll include it on our next round-up.

Image: BagmanTheEditor