Venu Sports Announces Management Team Under CEO Pete Distad
Venu Sports, the joint venture being launch this fall by Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery, announced on Tuesday the executive team under recently appointed CEO Pete Distad.
In addition to the “150 engineers and executives dedicated to building the Venu product,” here are the operatives named in Tuesday’s press release:
Brian Borkowski, chief marketing officer, will be responsible for marketing, branding and growth strategies. Borkowski previously worked at FanDuel, where he led marketing for the online gambling company. He also held multiple roles at Hulu, including VP of media and acquisition and head of subscriber acquisition.
Jessica Casano-Antonellis, senior VP and head of communications, will lead all communications facets for Venu Sports. She previously led communications at SiriusXM, while also serving as VP of communications for Disney Plus and Hulu at The Walt Disney Company.
Tim Connolly, chief business officer, will be responsible for steering the strategic initiatives for the upcoming sports streaming platform, including content rights and licensing, distribution and strategic partnerships, business development, subscriber growth and retention strategies. Prior to joining Venu, Connolly also led subscriber growth for Apple TV Plus and MLS Season Pass at Apple, under Distad, and also held senior leadership positions at Hulu and The Walt Disney Company.
Amit Dudakia, senior VP and head of product, will lead all facets of product management and design, along with programming and editorial for the service. Dudakia previously held various product leadership roles across Fox Corporation and its portfolio of leading entertainment brands, most recently serving as senior VP of product management for Fox Technology & Digital, where he led the product and design organization for Fox Sports.
Skarpi Hedinsson, chief technology officer, will oversee the technology strategy and execution for the sports streaming service, including building out a world-class team of technologists. Prior to joining Venu, Hedinsson was the CTO of the Los Angeles Rams and led the team responsible for the vision, design and implementation of technology throughout Hollywood Park, which includes SoFi Stadium, one of the country’s most technologically advanced stadiums.
David Hillman, chief legal officer, will lead all legal matters for Venu Sports. Prior to joining Venu, Hillmanwas a key member of the corporate legal executive management team at Paramount Global, where he most recently served as executive VP and general counsel for CBS Sports, CBS News and Stations and Broadcast Operations.
Gautam Ranji, chief financial officer, will oversee all aspects of the financial operations for the sports venture. Prior to joining Venu, Ranji served as CFO and treasurer for Sphere Entertainment, where he led all finance functions and was part of the management team which launched the Sphere in Las Vegas. Previously, Ranji held senior leadership positions at CBS, where he oversaw strategic planning and business development, and co-led the merger integration following the combination of Viacom and CBS (now Paramount Global).
Judy Schwab, senior VP and head of people, will oversee all aspects of Venu Sports’ People strategy and operations, including workforce planning, organizational effectiveness, talent acquisition, talent management and development, and total rewards, as well as the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. Prior to joining Venu, she served as an HR leader within Apple’s Services division.
