Tom Harrison will step down as chief executive of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in June after more than seven years in the role.
The ECB board has begun a “comprehensive” search process to identify Harrison’s successor. Clare Connor, the managing director of England women’s cricket, will become interim chief executive until a permanent replacement is found.
Harrison was named ECB chief executive in January 2015 and has overseen record levels of investment across the game.
Hugh Weber has announced that he will be stepping down as president of Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, which owns and operates the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers and the NHL’s New Jersey Devils.
Weber was appointed to the role in September 2019, having previously served as president of the Devils and the Prudential Center arena since August 2013. He will leave the organisation in the summer.
Starr Butler-Jemison will join OVG360, the third-party venue management, venue services and hospitality division of Oak View Group, as senior vice-president of content development and private events.
Butler-Jemison (pictured right) will begin the role on July 5 and report to Chris Granger, president of OVG360, which was formed in February as OVG rebranded its OVG Facilities division and its recent Spectra acquisition. She will be based in Detroit.
Butler-Jemison joins OVG360 from the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, where she worked as vice-president of booking and events for the Fiserv Forum arena and the Deer District complex. She previously served as director of booking and events at Prudential Center.
Jolene Herz has been named vice-president of booking for the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California.
Her role has been expanded to overseeing all live events at the venue and she will continue to report to Geni Lincoln, general manager and senior vice-president of live events. Herz (pictured left) has worked at the Kia Forum since 2016, when she was named booking manager, and was promoted to booking director in 2018.
Herz started her live entertainment career as a booking assistant in the Los Angeles Live Nation office in 2000 before moving to Nederlander Concerts. She worked at the Kia Forum from 2007 to 2010, then returned to Live Nation before rejoining the Kia Forum in 2016.
Sports and entertainment consulting firm Elevate Sports Ventures has appointed Prashanth Doss as its new chief business officer, international.
Doss will be responsible for leading business development and will serve as the lead liaison for the agency’s roster of international clients. He will report to Elevate president Chip Bowers. Doss will be Elevate’s foremost senior executive in the UK.
WNBA franchise the Los Angeles Sparks has named Vanessa Shay as its new president.
Shay will oversee all Sparks business operations and will report directly to managing partner Eric Holoman. She joins the Sparks from San Diego Wave of the National Women’s Soccer League, where she had served as chief revenue officer since the team’s inception last year.
Shay previously served as vice-president of global partnerships for AEG Worldwide for 13 years, overseeing the launch of the L.A. Live entertainment district.
Valerio Gori has joined Spanish LaLiga football club Atlético Madrid as its global head of marketing.
Gori joins Atlético from Italian Serie A outfit AS Roma, where he served as head of marketing.
Kevin Berry has started a new role as Levy UK + Ireland’s general manager at Newbury Racecourse.
Berry previously served as Levy’s general manager at Madejski Stadium, home of Championship football club Reading.
The Kansas City Chiefs NFL team has promoted Brian Dunn to vice-president of accounting and controller; Jayne Martin to vice-president of fan experience; Michael Ragsdale to vice-president of finance strategy and analytics; and Shaun Tyrance to vice-president of player services and assessment.
Dunn will enter his 12th season with the Chiefs in 2022 and oversees the club’s financial and NFL reporting, payroll, cash management and accounting activities. Martin will enter her 21st season with the team in 2022 and has held various roles, including hospitality and volunteer programmes manager, premium services manager, customer relations manager and director of fan experience.
Ragsdale has worked at the Chiefs since 2007 and began his career at the team as a staff accountant before being promoted to director of financial planning and analysis, and then serving as director of strategy and analytics. Tyrance joined the Chiefs in 2019 and focuses on all aspects of behavioural health and wellness for club employees.
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Images: Kia Forum/OVG360
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