Venu Sports fills out leadership team with sports media veterans

On Tuesday, Venu Sports, the forthcoming live sports streaming joint venture between Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery, announced various new hires to fill out its leadership team.

Pete Distad, who was announced as Venu’s first CEO in March, lauded the additions in a release.

“Getting the chance to assemble the starting lineup for the management team responsible for building the Venu organization, creating the culture, setting the pace of innovation, and ultimately, fueling the growth behind our forthcoming service has been an incredible opportunity,” Distad said. “We searched for people with an entrepreneurial spirit who could bring diverse perspectives to Venu Sports with experience launching beloved consumer products and growing high-performing teams, and brought together a group of all-stars in their respective fields with: Brian, Jessica, Tim, Amit, Skarpi, David, Gautam, and Judy.”

Here’s the full list of additions Additionally, Venu employs “over 150 engineers and executives dedicated to building the Venu product.”

• Brian Borkowski, Chief Marketing Officer: previously worked at FanDuel (marketing) and Hulu (VP Media and Acquisition, Head of Subscriber Acquisition)
• Jessica Casano-Antonellis, Senior Vice President and Head of Communications: previously worked at SiriusXM (communications) and Disney (VP of Communications for Disney+ and Hulu)
• Tim Connolly, Chief Business Officer: previously worked at Apple (subscriber growth for Apple TV+ and MLS Season Pass), Hulu, and Disney
• Amit Dudakia, Senior Vice President and Head of Product: previously worked at Fox Technology & Digital (SVP of Product Management)
• Skarpi Hedinsson, Chief Technology Officer: previously worked for the Los Angeles Rams (CTO) and Disney/ABC (CTO)
• David Hillman, Chief Legal Officer: previously worked at Paramount Global (EVP and General Counsel for CBS Sports, CBS News and Stations and Broadcast Operations)
• Gautam Ranji, Chief Financial Officer: previously worked at Sphere Entertainment (CFO and Treasurer)
• Judy Schwab, Senior Vice President and Head of People: previously worked at Apple (HR) and Disney (HR of direct-to-consumer divisions)

Venu is expected to launch in the fall, though a specific date nor pricing has yet to be announced.