Marquee Search Recruits President for Gateway Baseball
February 11, 2021 – Portland, OR-based Marquee Search has assisted in the placement of Jeff Jurgella as president of Gateway Management Baseball and the Beloit Snappers. He will oversee Beloit Baseball and the new riverbend stadium in downtown Beloit, WI. “The response we received from interested candidates about the opening was even stronger than we expected,” said Jeff Yocom, president of Marquee Search. “We conducted a national search, and once potential candidates learned about the caliber of opportunity and ownership’s commitment to the community, their interest skyrocketed. The hiring team chose from a large and strong group of candidates and ultimately landed on a Wisconsin son that we’re excited to follow as he leads the organization into 2021 and beyond.”
“We are thrilled to announce Jeff as the president of Gateway Professional Baseball,” said owner Quint Studer. “We performed an exhaustive nationwide search through the acclaimed sports talent search firm Marquee and we’re very excited not just to have found a local leader for our team, but to have found the best candidate. Jeff brings 25 years of experience from the highest levels of sports business to Beloit and shares our vision of using the new downtown stadium year-round to help improve the quality of life for all in our community.”
“This is a great day for Gateway Professional Baseball and the greater Beloit community,” said Dave St. Peter, president and CEO of the Minnesota Twins. “Jeff Jurgella is a proven leader with an impressive array of professional baseball, sports and entertainment experience. Most importantly, Jeff’s character and commitment to relationship building will serve the Beloit franchise and community well. The future of baseball in Beloit just got even brighter.”
Mr. Jurgella has spent the entirety of his career in sports in Wisconsin and Minnesota. He joins Gateway Professional Baseball from Legendary Way Marketing where he served as the company’s vice president, overseeing sponsorships for the PGA Tour’s American Family Insurance Championship. Prior to that, Mr. Jurgella spent 12 years in the front office of the Minnesota Twins, holding a variety of high-level positions including senior director of corporate partnerships, corporate sales manager, assistant director of minor leagues and scouting, stadium operations manager and game production manager.
“In his career, Jeff has held leadership roles touching all facets of a baseball team,” Mr. Studer said. “From sponsorships and marketing, to stadium operations, to fan experience and game production, to scouting and directing a farm system, he’s truly done it all and done it all well. His wealth of experience and ability as a teacher will be tremendous for our team and our staff.”
Sports and Entertainment Recruiters
Marquee Search has worked with more than 60 sports and entertainment businesses across the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS, and minor leagues in recent years to find and hire talent for high-level positions. Marquee Search recruits mid to senior level business professionals to sports and entertainment companies across North America and globally. The firm has led searches for the New Orleans Pelicans and Saints, Bulldogs Sports Properties, the Green Bay Packers, Circuit of Americas, USA Swimming and the Seattle Sounders FC, among many others.
Mr. Yocom has spent the last 20 years has placed over a thousand successful professionals in new positions, the majority of those placements are in the sports and live entertainment industry. He founded the firm in 2013 after 11 years with Game Face, where he executed hundreds of placements for its executive search division. Mr. Yocom specializes in the identification and delivery of mid- to senior-level front office professionals for sports teams, agencies, and related sports and entertainment properties. Developing strong relationships with candidates and clients is a major part of his role.
“I had the pleasure of working with Jeff to fill the key role of VP of corporate partnerships for the Raiders,” said Mark Sheaer, SVP and chief revenue officer for the Las Vegas Raiders. “His personal commitment to the search was evident from Day One. Jeff spent a lot of time and energy upfront to get to know me, the team and the organization at large. He didn’t hand me a predetermined list of candidates he was going to contact for the role.”
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
