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Appointments round-up: Premier League, Roc Nation, RFL and more

This week saw football’s English Premier League announce David Pemsel as its new chief executive, ending its long search for a replacement for Richard Scudamore.

Pemsel (pictured), who currently serves as chief executive of Guardian Media Group (GMG), will join the Premier League by no later than April 2020. Richard Masters will continue to serve as the league’s interim chief executive until that time before reverting to managing director.

Susanna Dinnage had initially been lined up as the league’s new chief executive but opted to turn down the role to stay at media organisation Discovery. Dinnage had been due to take the reins at the start of 2019 after being announced as Scudamore’s successor last November.

At GMG, Pemsel oversaw the organisation’s first operating profits in its news business for 20 years, delivering record revenues in 2019. The Premier League said it will now commence its search for a non-executive chair.

Entertainment agency Roc Nation has named Brett Yormark as co-chief executive of Roc Nation Unified and president of business operations and strategy.

Yormark will work with senior Roc Nation staff to develop and execute long-term organisational objectives. His brother Michael will also serve as co-chief executive of Roc Nation Unified, the newly-branded full-service agency that supports artists, athletes, events, venues, leagues, teams and brands.

Yormark previously served as chief executive of BSE Global, for whom he oversaw the opening of Brooklyn’s Barclays Center arena.

England’s Rugby Football League (RFL) has named Simon Johnson as its new chair, replacing Brian Barwick.

Johnson joined the RFL board in July 2014 and was named as interim chair earlier in the year. He serves as the chief executive of the Jewish Leadership Council and has had spells as a senior lawyer at the Premier League and director of corporate affairs at the Football Association. He previously spent 10 years with commercial broadcaster ITV.

Barwick announced in April that he would be stepping down as RFL chair. He also stepped down as chair of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, which England will host.

The RFL has also named Dr Rimla Akhtar MBE and Sandy Lindsay MBE as non-executive directors.

Allied Esports Entertainment has announced the appointment of Anthony A. Hung as chief financial officer. Hung will replace Kenneth DeCubellis, who stepped down from the role on September 24.

Hung previously served as chief executive and chief financial officer of Audio Design Experts, where he oversaw all corporate activities including sales, marketing, finance, legal, operations, supply chain logistics, customer service and human resources.

Frank Schwegler has been promoted to chief business development officer at Swiss ticketing company Starticket. Schwegler has served as chief commercial officer of the company since July 2016.

Alexey Vlasov has been named as the new commercial director at Russian Premier League football club Spartak Moscow. He previously worked for the club between 2008 and 2015, serving as director of business development from 2012 to 2015.

In 2015, he joined FIFA’s Russia office where he led marketing operations, including integrating sponsorship rights at World Cup host stadia.

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 in our next round-up.

Image: Premier League