Features

People on the move: Oak View Group, MLSE and more

Oak View Group has appointed Kenneth Gaber as president of food services for the company’s OVG Facilities division.

Based in Philadelphia, Gaber (pictured left) starts his new role immediately and will report to OVG Facilities president Chris Granger. Gaber will lead OVG Facilities’ food and beverage line, overseeing its culinary, technology and operational strategy.

Gaber previously served as vice-president of operational excellence/strategic operations with Delaware North Sportservice. Prior to that, he served as general manager for Delaware North at American Family Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Milwaukee Brewers.

Gaber’s appointment follows OVG’s acquisition of venue management and hospitality provider Spectra.

Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment has announced that Michael Friisdahl is stepping down as its president and chief executive at the end of February to become executive chairman of Signature Aviation, a private aviation terminals and services provider.

Friisdahl has served as president and chief executive of MLSE since December 2015. MLSE is the parent company of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, NBA’s Toronto Raptors and Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC.

Prior to joining MLSE, Friisdahl served as president and chief executive of Air Canada Leisure Travel Group. A search for his successor will begin immediately.

NFT platform Fanaply has announced three new hires to lead its commercial efforts.

Danielle Maged, former global head of partnerships and business development at StubHub and executive vice-president of global solutions at Fox Networks, has joined as chief commercial officer. Sam Huntington and Holly Olstein have also joined Fanaply as vice-presidents of business development.

Maged (pictured right) will oversee all aspects of Fanaply’s growth, driving its commercial and business strategy. Olstein joins as vice-president of business development – entertainment and sports, while Huntington will be vice-president of business development for music and entertainment, focusing on partnerships and fan engagement.

Brett Yormark has been promoted to chief operating officer of sports and entertainment agency Roc Nation.

Yormark has served as co-chief executive of Roc Nation Unified and president of business operations and strategy since October 2019. Under his new role, he will continue to lead Roc Nation Unified while providing leadership across wider Roc Nation verticals.

Hannah Caple has started a new role as the NFL’s senior stadium operations manager in the UK.

Caple has worked at the NFL since 2016 and previously served as stadium operations coordinator and stadium operations manager in the 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.

Gaber image: Oak View Group