![Transax July 5](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.sportico.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Transacs_graphic.png?w=1280&h=720&crop=1)
Welcome to Sportico’s transactions wire, a weekly rundown of personnel, partnerships and products across the sports business industry.
PERSONNEL
Portland Trail Blazers Name Galen Davies Chief Revenue Officer
The Portland Trail Blazers have hired Galen Davies as the organization’s next executive vice president and chief revenue officer. Davies will be responsible for leading strategic planning, ticketing and commercial partnerships, emphasizing increasing revenue streams and diversifying customer segments. He will lead a group made up of the organization’s ticket sales and service, premium sales and service and commercial partnership teams. Davies joins the organization after 15 years with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) in Toronto. Nolan Partners, a sports and entertainment executive search firm, was retained by the Trail Blazers to lead the search for the organization’s new CRO.
Ellie Norman Appointed Formula E Chief Marketing Officer
Ellie Norman has been appointed Formula E chief marketing officer, effective Sept. 30. Henry Chilcott will leave the business this summer after a four-year tenure. Norman joins Formula E after two years as chief communications officer at Manchester United, responsible for media relations, public affairs, brand development, creative content and fan engagement. Norman joined the football club from Formula 1, where she spent five years as chief marketing and communications officer. In her role as CMO at Formula E, Norman will be responsible for a newly expanded remit, incorporating brand, marketing, PR and corporate communications, digital and social media and fan engagement.
Comcast Names USA Sponsored Athletes for Paris Olympic, Paralympic Games
Comcast, a partner of Team USA, has unveiled its roster of 16 Team USA sponsored athletes. They include Olympic track and field bronze medalist Noah Lyles, Olympic breaking hopeful Victor Montalvo and Paralympic swimming gold medalist Anastasia Pagonis. Ahead of the Games, Xfinity will offer all Team USA athletes who qualify for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 a “Connections Credit” to help support their access to the Internet at home or on-the-go via their mobile device. Through the Xfinity Athlete Connections Program, Xfinity hopes to help more than 900 Team USA athletes stay connected during their pursuit of gold in Paris. Comcast is an official partner of Team USA through 2028, when the Games return to America in Los Angeles. NBC serves as the exclusive U.S. broadcaster of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024.
Caesars Entertainment Appoints Rodney Williams to Board of Directors
Caesars Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: CZR) has appointed Rodney Williams to its board of directors, subject to required regulatory approvals and pending licensure. Williams recently stepped down as president of the Diageo Beer Company and president of Diageo Canada. In that role, he oversaw new momentum for Guinness beer, with the brand becoming the fastest-growing on-premise brand in the United States in 2023.
Aston Martin Formula 1 Team Names Andy Cowell as Group CEO
Andy Cowell has been named the group chief executive officer of the Aston Martin Aramco Formula 1 team. On Oct. 1, he will join the team. Current CEO Martin Whitmarsh will be handing over responsibility before the end of the year. Cowell was most recently the managing director at Mercedes AMG HPP. At Mercedes-Benz HPE, he was engineering director between 2008 and 2013. He became managing director of Mercedes AMG HPP in 2013 during the V6 turbo-hybrid era when Mercedes F1 team won both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships between 2014 and 2020.
PARTNERSHIPS
TNT Sports, Mountain West Reach Multiyear College Football Agreement
TNT Sports and the Mountain West Conference have reached a multiyear agreement for a full slate of live college football games to air exclusively on truTV and Max beginning this season. truTV and Max will present 14 Mountain West college football games during the inaugural season, with coverage kicking off with San José State hosting Sacramento State on Thursday, Aug. 29, at 7 p.m. PT. TruTV and Max will be home to four Saturday MW doubleheaders, including Sept. 7, 14 and 21, along with Oct. 12. The Mountain West is represented exclusively by WME Sports and IMG, who advised on the deal.
Ashley Enters Into Multiyear Partnership With Detroit Tigers and Red Wings
The Dufresne Spencer Group (DSG), the largest licensee of Ashley stores, is now the exclusive furniture and mattress partner to the Detroit Red Wings (NHL) and Detroit Tigers (MLB), joining the brand’s partnership roster alongside the Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers and Memphis Grizzlies, among others. The long-term partnership marks the first in the furniture and mattress category for both teams, owned by Ilitch Sports + Entertainment. As part of the partnership, awareness and funds will be raised to help children in the foster care system find a permanent home. To kick off that commitment, Ashley DSG will be donating 124 beds to Detroit-area foster children through their “Hope to Dream” initiative.