Sportico Transactions: Moves and Mergers Roundup for Sept. 17

Welcome to Sportico‘s Transactions wire, a weekly rundown of personnel, partnerships and purchases across the sports business industry.

Personnel

LA28 Apoints Kathy Carter CEO

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The Organising Committee for the LA28 Olympic and Paralympic Games has appointed Kathy Carter as chief executive officer. Reporting to LA28 chair Casey Wasserman, Carter will lead the planning and execution of the 2028 Games.

Carter joined LA28 in October 2018 as chief revenue officer and CEO of US Olympic and Paralympic Properties, LLC. Before joining LA28, Carter was a founding member of Major League Soccer, spending a total of 20 years at MLS and Soccer United Marketing, including the last eight years as president.

WME Sports Hires Murray, Stival and Eppler to Run Baseball Business

WME Sports announced the hiring of baseball executives Jim Murray, Michael Stival and Billy Eppler to lead its baseball representation business as Partners.

Murray and Stival are joining WME Sports from Excel Sports Management, while Eppler served most recently as general manager of the Los Angeles Angels.

Kiswe Appoints Ruby Kam as Chief Financial Officer

Kiswe, the interactive video company, has appointed Ruby Kam as chief financial officer. Kam will be responsible for the company’s strategic finance, investor relations, human resources and accounting functions.

Most recently, Kam served as chief financial officer of UHC National Accounts, where she led all aspects of financial strategy, forecasting and planning for the business unit

Angel City Football Club Promotes Jessica Smith to Head of Revenue

Angel City Football Club announced the promotion of Jessica Smith to head of revenue. In her new role, Smith will oversee sponsorship and ticketing departments as well as the strategic direction of Angel City’s growth opportunities.

Smith joined ACFC from Major League Soccer’s San Jose Earthquakes, where she spent four years overseeing the club’s partnership portfolio, sponsorship revenue stream and strategic partner initiatives. She has held similar leadership roles in sponsorship and ticketing with stints within the NHL, MLB and MiLB.

Rally Ventures Appoints New Chief People Officer

Rally Ventures, a leading venture capital firm focused on early-stage business technology, announced that Jessi Howard has joined the firm as chief people officer.

Rally Ventures is investing from its latest fund, Rally Ventures IV, a $250 million fund that brings the company’s total committed capital raised since inception to over $600 million.

Prophet Betting Exchange Adds Executive Roles

Prophet, the peer-to-peer U.S. sports betting exchange, has announced the addition of three senior sports betting, iGaming and gambling experts to VP roles in marketing, operations and strategy. Thomas Phillips joins Prophet as VP of marketing, Matt Garrigan is VP of strategy, and Michael Halperin becomes VP of operations.

Partnerships

Caesars Named Sports Betting Partner, Official Casino Partner of Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts and Caesars Entertainment Inc. announced a partnership making Caesars Sportsbook a premier sports betting partner and the only official casino partner of the team.

The new multi-year agreement expands upon the existing Colts-Caesars partnerships with Harrah’s Hoosier Park Racing & Casino and Indiana Grand Racing & Casino.

Nitro Rallycross Adds International Media Partners

Ahead of its series debut on Sept. 27, Nitro Rallycross has added nine international media partners, ensuring distribution of the motorsport created by Travis Pastrana in all corners of the world.

The newly added networks complement a previously announced partnership with NBCUniversal for comprehensive live coverage on Peacock and highlights programming on NBC Sports, as well as six other international distribution deals.

ThriveFantasy Closes $3M Funding Round

ThriveFantasy, a prop daily fantasy sports and esports platform, raised $3 million in its latest round of funding. The round was led by Scott Secord of Cardinal Sports Capital Inc., who will also join Thrive’s Board of Directors. Additional investors include New York Angels members, Yolo Investments, Reflect Ventures and Stage 1 Ventures.