People on the move: Legends, MCC, LiveCo and more

Dan Levy has been appointed CEO of premium experiences company Legends, with Shervin Mirhashemi to move into a new full-time role as vice-chair.

Levy joined Legends last month as interim president, reporting directly to Mirhashemi, who has served as CEO of the firm since January 2021. Levy previously spent 14 years at Meta and also worked at PayPal for seven years.

In his new role as vice-chair, Mirhashemi will also continue as a board member. He joined Legends in 2013, initially serving as president and chief operating officer.

MLB team the Oakland Athletics last month appointed Legends to manage premium seating and ticket sales at its proposed new ballpark in Las Vegas. Legends will deliver strategic consulting and go-to-market analysis, product design and development consultation, strategy and execution for premium and suite sales, as well as initial valuation work, staffing and marketplace insights.

Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has announced that Rob Lynch will become its new director of cricket and operations.

Lynch will succeed Jamie Cox, who is leaving the owner of Lord’s Cricket Ground and steward of the laws of the game, after nearly three years in post to take up the role of CEO at Somerset County Cricket Club. 

Lynch is currently CEO of the Professional Cricketers’ Association (PCA) having originally joined the organisation as commercial director in 2020. He will assume his new role in July, overseeing the day-to-day operational function at Lord’s, with match day operations a particular focus.

Lynch will also head up the cricketing departments of MCC, responsible for delivering the club’s cricket strategy. Lord’s is set to become the first UK men’s Test cricket ground to switch to LED floodlights, as part of a deal announced last month between the MCC and Abacus Lighting.

LiveCo, the live entertainment company, has named Charles H. (Chuck) Steedman as president and CEO.

Steedman (pictured right) joins the company after a seven-month international search. He brings with him extensive experience gained from a variety of key executive roles, including serving as AEG Facilities chief operating and development officer, ASM Global executive vice-president of strategy and development, and most recently as a principal with the Raptor Sports Capital private equity fund.

He steps into the role previously held by Brian Becker, who has been CEO of LiveCo since co-founding the company with private equity fund Waterland back in November 2021. Becker not only led the CEO search but also intends to continue his involvement with LiveCo as a major shareholder.

Vicky Lowe will be joining World Netball as interim CEO following the departure of Clare Briegal.

Lowe has worked across the sport, charity, and corporate sectors for more than 18 years, most recently as the global director of development at Laureus Sport for Good. Briegal had been CEO of World Netball since September 2013 before announcing her departure in October.

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has promoted David Courell to the role of interim CEO, with Jonathan Hill exiting the position.

Hill took on the post in November 2020, with the FAI now seeking a permanent CEO. Courell has served as chief operating officer of the FAI since February 2022. 

LaLiga, organising body of the top two divisions of Spanish club football, has promoted Keegan Pierce to the new role of director of international relations.

Pierce has headed LaLiga’s London office since 2020, most recently serving as managing director for the UK and Ireland. LaLiga this month posted total recurring revenues of almost €4.89bn (£4.18bn/$5.2bn) during the 2022-23 season, which saw cumulative attendance figures reach a record high.

The National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) has announced the hiring of Matt Soloff as senior vice-president of business development.

In this role, Soloff will lead the development and implementation of new marketing partnerships driving the objectives of the league including revenue generation and fan engagement.
 
Soloff, who started with the NWSL earlier this month, joins the league from the NBA, where he led various business development and strategy initiatives including the development of commercial interests around the league’s first ever In-Season Tournament.

Italian Serie A football club Fiorentina has promoted Alessandro Ferrari to become its new general manager.

The club’s succession plan follows the death last month of Joe Barone. Ferrari has worked as Fiorentina’s director of communications and external relations since July 2018. Fiorentina’s stadium, the Stadio Artemio Franchi, is set to undergo major redevelopment.

Steve Cannon, vice-chairman of AMB Sports and Entertainment (AMBSE), has announced he will retire from the organisation at the end of June.

Cannon (pictured centre) was initially selected by Arthur M. Blank, chairman and owner of the Blank Family of Businesses, to help lead his for-profit sports entities as CEO in 2016.

Since that time, Cannon has worked closely with Blank and the leaders in each business on ventures such as the launch of Mercedes-Benz Stadium and MLS franchise Atlanta United, along with further developing NFL team the Atlanta Falcons’ business initiatives.

Birmingham-based live events business NEC Group has announced that Andy Gibb will join its leadership team as managing director of conventions.

Gibb will lead the conventions and conference division of the business, based across ICC Birmingham, NEC Birmingham and Vox Conference Venue. He joins from Stadium MK, where he was group sales and marketing director for nearly seven years. He previously served as managing director at the Ricoh Arena.

The Australian Football League (AFL) has appointed Emma Moore as the new general manager of women’s competition the AFLW.

Moore (pictured left) will join the AFL in July from a senior executive career at financial services group NAB, where she has most recently led stakeholder engagement and business strategy development execution. 

Moore will take up the role after the inaugural GM of women’s football, Nicole Livingstone, departed after the 2023 Women’s Grand Final following seven years in the role. The 2024 AFLW season is due to expand to 11 regular-season games.

Sports marketing agency TGI Sport has announced that event, stadium and operational expert Belinda Keay is its new general manager of live and will be leading its major events, brand activations and premium hospitality team.

Keay is also joined by Charlotte Fetherston-Godley and Belinda Kelso who have both received internal promotions and will move into the new roles of head of brand Melbourne and head of brand Sydney, respectively.

The AFL in November entered into a wide-ranging partnership with TGI Sport, with the deal enabling the league to “take back control” of its matchday signage inventory.

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.