Under Armour has named Patrik Frisk as COO and president of the athletic wear company. Frisk will oversee go-to-market strategy and long-term growth plans for Under Armour.
Frisk was previously the CEO of the Aldo Group, a footwear and accessories brand, and he has over 30 years of experience in the apparel industry.
“Patrik’s global experience in brand building, including a proven and disciplined record of driving growth, while enhancing profitability and efficiency, will be instrumental as we work to transform our business model to deliver long-term value for our consumers, customers and shareholders,” said Under Armour CEO and chairman Kevin Plank.
Frisk’s appointment will allow Under Armour to better leverage digital business and help with operational efficiency, which is needed after months of sluggish growth for the company.
In April, Under Armour reported its first ever quarterly loss since going public in 2006. The previous quarter, the company reported revenue growth of under 20 percent, the first time in over six years.
Under Armour also made two other executive moves by appointing Paul Fipps as chief technology officer and Colin Browne as chief supply chain officer.
“Today’s leadership appointments and the streamlining of our organizational structure are transformative steps focused on a sharper, consumer-led approach and go-to-market strategy through our category management lens,” said Plank. “With the stated goals of accelerating our innovation agenda, optimizing our product assortment and creating a merchandising center of excellence, this underscores our work toward evolving from a great brand with good operations—to a great brand with great operations.”
Pandora founder Tim Westergren has resigned as CEO and board member for the internet radio company. Chief financial officer Naveen Chopra will be interim CEO while Jason Hirschhorn will fill Westergren’s seat on the board.
In corresponding moves, Pandora announced that president Mike Herring and CMO Nick Bartle were leaving the company.
“I am incredibly proud of the company we have built,” said Westergren. “We invented a whole new way of enjoying and discovering music and in doing so, forever changed the listening experience for millions . . . I believe Pandora is perfectly poised for its next chapter.”
Westergren took over as CEO last March. His departure adds to the company’s already turbulent year. Pandora’s share price dropped by more than a third since the beginning of the year, following Westergren introduction of Pandora Premium, a premium service akin to competitors Spotify and Apple Music.
In June, the company announced it sold Ticketfly for $200 million to Eventbrite—Pandora paid $335 million for the ticketing service company in 2015.
Twitter has hired Candi Castleberry-Singleton as vice president of inclusion and diversity, replacing Jeffrey Siminoff, who stepped down in February. Previously, she was vice president of global inclusion and diversity at Motorola.
Twitter took criticism in 2015 for the lack of diversity in high-ranking positions, and the hiring of Castleberry-Singleton aims to make Twitter a better reflection of its users’ demographics.
E! Entertainment has promoted Jen Neal to executive producer of live events, making her responsible for E!’s featured franchise “Live from the Red Carpet” as well as “People’s Choice Awards.” Neal will also continue to serve as the entertainment company’s executive vice president of marketing.
“Live events have been the heart of the E! brand for over two decades, and with Jen’s appointment we are continuing to bolster our strategy to supercharge E!‘s unparalleled red carpet coverage and re-imagine People’s Choice Awards for the next generation,” said E! president Adam Stotsky. “Jen is a dynamic executive who has helped propel the network, and I’m thrilled that she will bring her creative vision and innovative approach to this new post as Executive Producer of Live Events.”
Former BitTorrent marketing executive Brian Davi is now CMO for GameMine. Davi will oversee the development of marketing initiatives and company growth strategies for the US-based mobile game publisher.
“Brian holds the exact blend of professional expertise needed for GameMine’s CMO position,” said GameMine CEO Daniel Starr. “As GameMine’s global reach continues to develop, we have been searching for a talented marketer with strong breadth and depth of experiential knowledge of subscription-based mobile markets, with a specific focus on mobile gaming. Brian’s skillset is exactly what we’ve been looking for and we feel he is the perfect fit for GameMine.”
Comedy Central hired Whitney Baxter as vice president of strategy and business development. Baxter previously worked for Goldman Sachs, with his focus on the banking firm’s entertainment, media and internet clients.
“We’ve leaned upon Goldman Sachs’ long-standing reputation for having the best sense of humor in the financial sector and have hired one of its best and brightest,” said Comedy Central general manager Tanya Giles. “Whitney brings valuable experience in our evolving industry and a keen strategic mind to Comedy Central, and we’re very excited to have him join the team.”
The Player’s Tribune, the sports publishing platform founded by New York Yankees great Derek Jeter, has its first CEO in Jeff Levick. Levick was formally the chief revenue officer at Spotify and has also worked in sales at AOL and Google. At The Player’s Tribune, he will be tasked with creating new revenue strategies for the startup such as international expansion and subscription services.
Topps, known for their sports trading cards and confectionery treats, promoted Deniz Gezgin to vice president and general manager of digital. Gezgin will focus on the digital apps division of the company. He was previously the director of user acquisition and marketing for Topps Digital since last March.
“Deniz has advanced Topps Digital’s product strategy by applying years of industry knowledge and valuable user base experience,” said Topps president and CEO Michael Brandstaedter. “We’re committed to shaping the digital apps category through quality, creativity and innovation with Deniz at the helm.”
IGN host Naomi Kyle is now on the roster for Everyday Influencers (EI), an agency representing talent in the esports, music and lifestyle industries. Kyle was previously the writer, producer and host for IGN’s Daily Fix show. She will now work on The IGN Show for EI.
“We couldn’t be more excited to have our team represent her on all fronts,” said Darren Yan, EI’s head of talent. “As an established personality in the gaming and digital space, we can’t wait to put our efforts and resources behind her to continue to expand her career and brand.”
Live! Casino & Hotel promoted Jennifer Kearns to executive director of relationship marketing. She is now responsible for enhancing the VIP guest experience at the Live! Hotel, which is set to open in 2018. Kearns previously worked at SugarHouse Casino in VIP guest services and casino host management.
Arkane Studios, the company responsible for games like Prey and Dishonored, announced president and co-founder Raphael Colantonio is stepping down. Harvey Smith, the director of Dishonored 2, will take over the Austin, Texas-based Arkane team.
Nokia Technologies has appointed Gregory Lee as president and as a member of the group leadership team. Lee joins Nokia after 13 years serving as president and CEO of Samsung Electronics, North America.
Kate Edwards is stepping down as executive director of The International Game Developers Association (IGDA) after almost five years in the position. Trent Oster, who is chair of the board of directors and CEO of Beamdog, will serve as the interim executive director until a replacement is found.
(Editor’s Note: This post will be updated daily until Friday, June 30. Have a new hire tip? Let us know at editorial@alistdaily.com.)
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