Appointments

People on the move: World Cup, Pechanga Arena and more

Featured image credit: LinkedIn/ASM Global/Cincinnati Open

Reyna Marely Flores-Martinez has started a new position as venue operations director for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will take place in Canada, Mexico and the United States.

Flores-Martinez (pictured right) previously worked for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games organising committee. Prior to that, she worked as senior tournaments manager at FIFA and also worked on tournaments such as the 2022 World Cup, 2022 Club World Cup and 2023 U20 World Cup.

She also served as pre-match ceremonies manager during the 2018 World Cup, and prior to that spent time as match operations and venue director at UEFA. Flores-Martinez also worked as a senior projects manager at the International Boxing Association (AIBA, now IBA).

ASM Global has promoted Ryan Golden to the position of general manager at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.

Golden (pictured left) has served as assistant general manager of the arena for the past four years. He has previously worked at AEG as vice-president of events for Microsoft Theater and L.A. Live in Los Angeles.

In his new role as general manager of the 14,000-capacity Pechanga Arena, Golden will oversee day-to-day operations, including the overall management, promotion and operation of the facility. He succeeds Steve Eckerson, who served as the arena’s general manager from May 2023 and will now transition into a part-time advisory role.

Jansen Dell has been appointed as the new chief operating officer of the Cincinnati Open tennis tournament.

Dell (pictured centre) will oversee operations, manage staff, and lead strategic initiatives for the tournament. He joined the Cincinnati Open two years ago as capital project director and is leading a major renovation of the tournament campus.

Prior to joining the Cincinnati Open, Dell spent 18 years with Major League Baseball’s Cincinnati Reds, ultimately overseeing creative and brand strategy.

Oak View Group International has appointed Donna Cross as director of business development following 12 years with the NEC Group.

Cross will work closely with Rebecca Kane Burton, executive vice-president of venue management for OVG International, and Josh Pell, president of premium experiences and global strategy for OVG.

Cross has spent the past seven years working as sales director for the NEC Group. In her new role, she will support OVG International to build on its growing UK-based team working across the UK and Europe.

Sports marketing agency WePlay has appointed John Parker as executive creative director, Christian Millar as group business director, Daniel Akanni as business development manager and Matthew Collier as head of ventures.

Parker previously spent time as a creative leader at M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment and Ear To The Ground, working with brands such as New Balance, PlayStation, Samsung, Coca-Cola and Heineken.

Collier has previously worked in commercial leadership roles at the International Olympic Committee and ESPN.

Italian Serie A football club Parma has appointed Federico Cherubini as chief executive.

Cherubini previously worked at Juventus as chief of football staff. He officially begins his new role with Parma today (Monday). His arrival coincides with the departure of Luca Martines.

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.