This Week’s Movers in Sports Media and Marketing

This week in the sports media and marketing ecosystem, Kate Johnson leaves Visa for Google, Adam Rubin tapped as Associate AD Stony Brook University, and Katie Carew joins the New York Giants.

For job openings and more on who’s moving where, check out the Hashtag Sports Weekly roundup.

Nik Bonaddio announces departure from FanDuel

FanDuel Chief Product Officer Nik Bonaddio recently announced his departure from the daily fantasy provider and bookmaker. Bonaddio had been with the company for 4.5 years, coming on board as Vice President, Product in 2015 before being promoted to his current role in December of 2017. Bonaddio is the founder and former CEO of numberFire, a predictive data analytics and new media company that he built after winning $100,000 on “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?” Bonaddio sold numberFire to FanDuel in 2015 and was hired by the company to continue his work.

In announcing his departure from FanDuel, Bonaddio said his “heart is in early-stage tech” and that he will be getting back into the world of startups, though he did not specify what he would be working on next.

New York Giants add GumGum exec Katie Carew as Director of Corporate Partnerships

The New York Giants recently announced on Linkedin the hiring of Katie Carew as Director of Corporate Partnerships. A Siena University graduate and with an MBA from Iona, Carew comes to the Giants after two years as sales director at GumGum Brands. Carew began her career as Director of New Media for Broadcasting and Marketing for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and went on to join event company ANC as a sales executive, where she remained for three years.

Stats Perform snags Steve and Peter Hirdt from Elias Sports Bureau

Sports AI and data innovator Stats Perform on Monday announced the hiring of Steve and Peter Hirdt as Senior Director of Operations and Research, and Senior Director of Content Broadcast Services, respectively. The Hirdt brothers come to Stats Perform from Elias Sports Bureau, a century-old company that provides historical and statistical sports information on the major professional sports leagues, where Steve was executive VP, and Peter was VP and lead writer for the Elias Baseball Analyst and Elias Says.

The Hirdt brothers are two of the forefathers of modern sports broadcast research and content, having worked at the intersection of sports statistics and broadcasting for nearly half a century. Steve was a contributor to the first edition of the Baseball Encyclopedia, and was the Emmy-winning director of information on Monday Night Football for 35 years. Peter was at Elias Sports Bureau for more than 40 years, where he mastered the presentation of statistical content on ABC’s Monday Night Baseball and Monday Night Football, as well as CBS Sports’ MLB coverage.

Google hires Olympic medalist and sponsorship exec Kate Johnson away from Visa

Former Olympic rower turned Visa sponsorship exec Kate Johnson has accepted a position at Google. After winning a silver medal at the 2004 Olympics, Johnson spent six years at Visa where she oversaw long-term sponsorship deals with the International Olympics Committee (IOC) and the NFL. Johnson will fill a brand new role at Google, building and leading a division overseeing global partnerships in content and sports media.

John Tull joins Florida Gators Sports Properties arm of Learfield IMG College

Sports partnerships exec John Tull recently began his newest endeavor as Senior Account Executive for the Florida Gators Sports Properties, the Learfield IMG College division responsible for prospecting, selling, and managing all marketing partnerships for the Florida Gators. Prior to his new role, Tull held marketing and partnership roles with Penn State and the University of Pittsburgh before spending nearly four years at FOX Sports, where he was part of the college sports properties corporate sponsorship team.

Stony Brook hires Adam Rubin as Associate AD for Strategic Communications

Stony Brook University has announced the hiring of former ESPN beat reporter Adam Rubin as Associate AD for Strategic Communications. Rubin will be responsible for the development, implementation, and execution of the department’s strategic communication initiatives. Rubin comes to Stony Brook after nearly three years in a similar role at the New York Institute of Technology, where during his tenure the athletic department’s social media and website traffic doubled each year.

Rubin was a longtime New York Mets beat reporter for ESPN before being let go in 2017 in a move that surprised many due to his reputation throughout the industry as a dogged, respected reporter. At the time, Rubin said he already had plans to move on from journalism when he learned ESPN was not renewing his contract, so the news was well-received on his end.

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