World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper is to leave the organisation next year to become the head of the NFL American football league in Europe and the UK.
World Rugby’s chief operating officer Alan Gilpin will serve as the body’s interim chief executive to ensure business continuity between Gosper’s departure in January and the appointment of his replacement.
Gosper has spent almost nine years as chief executive of World Rugby, strengthening the organisation’s business and financial outcomes. He also oversaw rugby’s return to the Olympic Games.
Gosper said: “Rugby is a wonderful sport and World Rugby is a fantastic organisation, and therefore it was a very difficult decision to leave, but with a new ambitious strategic plan set to launch and the strong foundations in place to drive the sport forward beyond the pandemic, the time is right for me to begin a new challenge. I am proud of what we have achieved together as a rugby family. While I will miss working in the sport, my passion and enthusiasm for what rugby and its values mean to so many will never diminish.”
BSE Global, owner of the Barclays Center arena and the Brooklyn Nets NBA basketball franchise, has announced the hiring of five senior executives to its team.
BSE Global has named Emerson Moore as executive vice-president, chief people officer; Peter Stern as executive vice-president, chief financial officer; and Jackie Wilson II as executive director of diversity and inclusion.
In a pair of joint announcements with partners ASM Global and Levy, Adina Erwin has also been named general manager of Barclays Center, with Chris Giacalone named vice-president of hospitality.
The hires will help lead BSE Global’s business and venue operations and were announced by chief executive John Abbamondi. BSE Global also supports management of the New York Liberty WNBA franchise.
ASM Global has named John Drum as general manager of US Bank Stadium, home of the Minnesota Vikings NFL team.
Drum has been selected for the role after serving for three years as the stadium’s assistant general manager of operations and most recently as interim general manager. Prior to serving as interim general manager, Drum oversaw stadium operations including event services, facility management, security, IT, tours and ASM Global’s in-house cleaning services and guest experience departments.
Before joining US Bank Stadium, Drum spent 12 years with the Arizona Cardinals and nine seasons with Major League Baseball team the Anaheim Angels (now Los Angeles Angels).
The board of New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has elected Martin Snedden as its new chair.
Snedden will replace Greg Barclay, who was recently elected as the new independent chair of the International Cricket Council (ICC). Snedden is a former chief executive of NZC and served as a board member from 1990 to 1992, 1999 to 2001, and 2013 until present.
Snedden served as chief executive of the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and also held roles at Duco Promotions and Tourism Association NZ. He was also a director of the 2017 World Masters Games.
Zena Wooldridge has been elected as the new president of the World Squash Federation (WSF) after defeating incumbent Jacques Fontaine.
Wooldridge becomes the 10th WSF president since the organisation was founded in 1967 and the second female. She will serve a minimum four-year term after being elected by delegates during the 50th WSF AGM, which was held virtually over the weekend.
Octavian Morariu has been re-elected as president of Rugby Europe and will serve another four-year term.
Morariu was first elected in 2013 and his third and final term will run until 2024. He was re-elected ahead of a rival bid from Kirill Yashenkov and received more than 80 per cent of votes cast by member unions.
Danny Hannaford has started a new position as head of ticketing strategy and digital delivery at The O2 in London.
Hannaford has previously worked for DICE, Twickets, AXS and Global, while he also served as box office manager for Eventim Apollo and special events ticketing manager for AEG Live UK.
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: Ajay Suresh/CC BY 2.0/Edited for size
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