JohnWallStreet, the popular outlet covering the intersection of sports, business and media, is adding former Barstool Sports chief revenue officer Deirdre Lester as a contributor.
According to an announcement posted by JohnWallStreet founder Corey Leff on Tuesday, Lester will write a monthly column and host a biweekly podcast under the JaneWallStreet banner.
Lester’s podcast will be called At the Table, and Leff wrote that her first column will cover how smaller “challenger” sports leagues should adapt to the increasing share of broadcast rights spending being soaked up by the Big Four leagues.
Overall, Lester is expected to cover the sports business world from a women’s perspective.
“The goal isn’t to segment the conversation, but to make it more complete,” Leff wrote. “Women are helping to shape the business, understanding how they see the evolving landscape is essential to anticipating where the industry is headed.
“So, our plan is to bring more of the females driving innovation and change into the spotlight to share fresh ideas, challenge assumptions, and amplify playbooks.”
Lester was the first CRO at Barstool from 2018-22. Before that, she worked in sales and partnerships at Yahoo Sports, Major League Baseball and Whistle.
Most recently, Lester was CEO of Teton Ridge, a content brand for outdoor sports. She also serves on the board of All City, the parent of local sports digital video brands like DNVR and CHGO.
Lester’s first guest on At the Table will be League One Volleyball executive Stephanie Alger, a good hint as to the coverage Lester will provide for JaneWallStreet. As women’s sports grows and women increasingly take on leadership roles across the sports ecosystem, Lester aims to share perspective from her long, successful career aimed at informing these leaders about the industry and where it is going.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.