The Viaplay Group has recently promoted Cecilia Gave as Executive Vice President and Head of Sports. She will now take on the responsibility of overseeing the strategic development and management of the Viaplay sports business across all relevant markets. Gave previously held various leadership positions at the Nordic Media Company since joining in 2016. She succeeds Peter Noellund, who resigned from the executive position last month. Gave expressed her honor and excitement in leading the Viaplay Group’s sports business into its next phase of development. Anders Jensen, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Viaplay Group, praised her for being the perfect choice to lead the sports division and appreciated her extensive experience and leadership qualities.
Meanwhile, tech giant Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has implemented the latest round of job cuts that affect several top executives in the sports industry. According to Sportico, Rob Shaw, head of global sports media partnerships, Kevin Court, head of sports partnerships, and Dev Sethi, the former executive responsible for partnerships between sports creators and college athletes, are among those leaving the company.
In another industry, Nike has reshuffled several executives into different positions. Heidi O’Neill is the new President of Consumer, Products and Brands, Craig Williams is the President of Geography and Marketplace, Sarah Mensah is the President of Jordan Brand, and Scott Uzel is now the Vice President and General Manager of the North America Division. Furthermore, Matthew Friend, Nike’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will take on additional responsibilities in sourcing, global locations and services, and managing supply and demand. Consumer Creations president Michael Spillane is set to retire in late 2023 after 16 years.
Additionally, several individuals in sports organizations have been appointed or transferred to new positions. Jorge Garbajosa is now the President of Fiba Europe and the Spanish Basketball Federation. Pascal Van Damme is the new President of the Royal Belgian Football Association, and Juan Carlos Rodriguez was appointed as the President of the Mexican Football Federation. Michaël Winger is now the Chairman of Monumental Basketball, while Joey Chitwood takes on the role of Executive Director for the 2026 Presidents Cup for the PGA Tour.
Other new appointments include Ryan Shaw, who is now the Executive Creative Director at Octagon UK, and Pietro Moro, who is now the COO and CFO of Sports. Brigitte Henriquez is the new President of the French Olympic Committee, while Martin Semmens is now the Chief Executive of Southampton FC. Sanjay Patel is the Managing Director of The Hundred at the England and Wales Cricket Board, and Yao Ming was replaced by Xu Jicheng as the Chairman of the China Basketball Association. Finally, Lisa Murray is retiring at the end of August as the Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, and Chief Diversity Officer at Octagon, while Barry Brin is taking over as Vice President of Research, Insights and Analysis at ESPN.