Comcast Spectacor, which owns and operates the Wells Fargo Center arena and the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers, has appointed Daniel Hilferty as its new chief executive.
Hilferty (pictured right) will work alongside Dave Scott, chairman of the company and governor of the Flyers; and Valerie Camillo, who was recently named president and chief executive of Spectacor Sports & Entertainment.
Hilferty joins Comcast Spectacor after leading Philadelphia’s successful bid to be a host city for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and he will continue to serve as chair of the board of directors at Philadelphia Soccer 2026. He succeeds Scott as chief executive of Comcast Spectacor.
Major League Soccer team Houston Dynamo has appointed SJ Luedtke as its new chief marketing officer.
Luedtke (pictured left) will oversee media relations, creative content, advertising, retail, youth programmes, community engagement and fan development for the Dynamo and the newly-branded Shell Energy Stadium. The role also covers the Houston Dash NWSL team and Houston Sports Park.
She joins the club after spending four years as vice-president of marketing for the IndyCar Series. Luedtke spent 10 years with US sportswear company Nike before joining IndyCar
Houston Dynamo has also signed a multi-year agreement with award-winning chef Hugo Ortega, who will collaborate with hospitality partner Levy to elevate the food and beverage experience at Shell Energy Stadium.
London’s Twickenham Stadium has appointed Emily Simmons-Wright and Keelan Wells as business development managers.
Simmons-Wright previously worked at Searcy’s and Central Hall Venues, while Wells has spent time at the Levy UK+Ireland group, working with the likes of football clubs Reading, Brentford and Watford, as well as Harlequins Rugby.
In a statement, Twickenham said that Simmons-Wright’s experience in sales and development roles will complement Wells’ profile within stadia conference and banqueting.
Mike Bohndiek, chief executive and founder of PTI Digital, has announced he will leave the digital transformation consultancy at the end of March to become technology director of English Premier League football club Arsenal.
The announcement ends an era at PTI that began back in October 2017. PTI said it will be led by its existing management team of Ben Wells, Daniel Brown, Michelle Tricker and Dan Smith, supported by chairman Martin Griffiths.
Read our story from last week for full details.
English League One football club Charlton Athletic has named Peter Storrie as its new chief executive.
Storrie has previously held senior positions at a variety of clubs, including West Ham United and Portsmouth. He has also worked in Italy, Colombia and Australia.
Charlton announced his appointment last week as it confirmed an end to takeover talks with a group led by Charlie Methven. Later in the week, it was reported that Charlton owner Thomas Sandgaard has backed out of a £17m (€19.1m/$20.5m) deal to acquire the club’s home stadium, The Valley.
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.
