Hey, Dwight: Nets Defeat Defending NBA Champs As Team Bolsters Marketing
Special to NYSportsJournalism
February 29, 2012: Dwight Howard may or may not be moving from Orlando to New York, but the soon-to-be Brooklyn Nets has boosted its marketing department in preparation for their major move from New Jersey to the soon-to-be completed Barclays Center.
Among the changes:
• Fred Mangione is being promoted from svp and and CMO to evp and CMO for Nets Basketball and Barclays Center.
• Mike Zavodsky is moving from vp-new corporate marketing ventures to svp-corporate sponsorships for Barclays Center.
• Andrew Newman is being promoted from manager to senior manager for corporate sponsorship development.
• Elisa Padilla is moving from director of marketing for the Nets to vp-marketing for the team and Barclays Center.
• Jeff Gamble is being promoted from senior director of Interactive and Creative Marketing to senior director of marketing for the Nets and Barclays Center.
• Kris Elvgren is advancing from director to senior director of Partnership Marketing, overseeing companies doing business with the Nets and Barclays Center.
The changes were unveiled just before what might have been the Nets' biggest win of the season to date, a 93-92 win on the road over the defending NBA champion Dallas Mavericks. Center Brook Lopez, who missed the first two months of this shortened season with a broken right ankle and who might be involved in a deal for Howard, scored 38 points.
"With [these moves and] the opening of Barclays Center in September, it’s an exciting time to be part of the Nets and Barclays Center.” — Brett Yormark
“I am thrilled to recognize these individuals for their excellent work,” Brett Yormark, Nets and Barclays Center CEO, said in a statement of the marketing department moves. “I am proud of our outstanding employees and appreciate their continued commitment."
And possibly in a shout-out to D-Howard, Yormark stated, "With the move next month to our new corporate headquarters at MetroTech in Brooklyn, and with the opening of Barclays Center in September, it’s an exciting time to be part of the Nets and Barclays Center.”
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