PRESS RELEASES

Turnkey Helps Launch Diversity-Based Pro Sports Assembly

(Sept. 10, 2020)-  Today a group of esteemed sports business executives have united to launch a first-of-its-kind, industry-wide, and mission-driven community called PRO SPORTS ASSEMBLY (“The Assembly”) – a 501(c)(3) organization for people who work in professional sports which aims by 2030 to achieve parity in opportunity, pay and leadership amongst its workforce.

Designed to keep leagues, teams and unions both knowledgeable and accountable for delivering an equitable and profitable future in professional sports organizations – The Assembly is a member-led community that challenges its industry to advance diverse and inclusive leadership. It believes that by developing cultural and gender intelligence, as well as setting best practices of stewardship, mentorship and allyship, professional sports properties can drive innovation, bolster financial performance, capture new markets and increase brand loyalty. The Assembly is aggressive in its vision and stance to create the future of its industry through the #PowerofProSports.

“We are united in game plan, and diverse in council,” says Shareef Abdur-Rahim, President of NBA G League and Founding Advisory Board Member of The Assembly. “We organized our Founding Boards to represent the diversity that our industry-at-large needs to see. In order to truly advance collectively – we must use an equity lens in leadership.”

“I’m on the Board because I’m passionate and committed to taking responsibility and action to drive equity and equality in sports,” said Len Perna, Chairman & CEO of Turnkey Search. “The Turnkey Talks series will highlight equity & diversity trends, people who are equity drivers and diverse outcomes in pro sports because actions speak louder than words,” said Perna.

Turnkey Talks: Join us as we talk with sports business leaders who are pioneering change, inspiring diverse talent and leading by example. With more than 1,200 talent placements across sports, entertainment & media, we’ll tap into our network of C-Suite leaders to highlight progressive practices, career success stories and future trends/opportunities. Geared towards anyone with a growth mindset looking to improve everyday job performance, stay abreast of industry trends and learn tips for career progression.

“For every five athletes you see on the field of play, there are 95 people behind the scenes bringing that game to life,” says Laura Dixon, Head of External Relations for Spurs Sports & Entertainment, and Founding Governing Board Member of The Assembly. “The people who work for professional sports teams, leagues and unions now have a place to connect and collaborate on the critical issues facing our industry. The larger our membership, the more impactful we can be in our purpose of advancing diverse, productive and inclusive leadership. The power of pro sports is truly in its people.”

See below a complete list of The Assembly’s Founders (in alphabetical order):

ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

Andy Loughnane – President, Austin FC

Cynt Marshall – CEO, Dallas Mavericks

Ese Ighedosa – President, House of Athlete

Hugh Weber – President, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment

Jessica Berman – Deputy Commissioner, National Lacrosse League

Kenneth Shropshire – CEO, Global Sport Institute, Arizona State University

Kyle Bunch – Vice President/Managing Director, Global Sports Venture Studios

Len Perna – CEO, Turnkey Search

Michele Roberts – Executive Director, National Basketball Players Association

Shareef Abdur-Rahim – President, NBA G-League

Shelley Zalis – CEO, The Female Quotient

Theresa Tran – Founder, The Offense

Tom Glick – President, Tepper Sports & Entertainment

Xavier Gutierrez – CEO, Arizona Coyotes

GOVERNING BOARD MEMBERS

Alex Chang – Chief Marketing Officer, San Francisco 49ers

Alison Roscoe – Vice President, Partnerships, Austin FC

Ann Seeney – Vice President, Human Resources, St. Louis Cardinals

Antony Bonavita – Executive Vice President, Venue Operations, Cleveland Cavaliers

Brandon James – Vice President of Basketball Administration/Deputy General Counsel, Spurs Sports & Entertainment

Brittanie Boyd – Vice President, Corporate Partnerships, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment

Cassandra Carr – Investor, Spurs Sports & Entertainment

Dan Gladstone – Senior Vice President, THINK450/National Basketball Players Association

Dionna Widder – Chief Revenue Officer, Houston Dynamo/Houston Dash

Keisha Wyatt – Director of Marketing, Dallas Mavericks

Laura Dixon – Head of External Relations, Spurs Sports & Entertainment

Molly Wurdack-Folt – Vice President, Partnerships, Detroit Tigers/Detroit Red Wings

Oracio Galindo – Head of Employee Experience, Los Angeles Rams

Raquel “Rocky” Egusquiza – Executive Director, Miami Marlins Foundation

FOUNDING PARTNERS

Turnkey Search

Dallas Mavericks

The Offense

The Female Quotient

In its first year, The Assembly will formalize its member network and provide professional development, as well as hold virtual forums, workshops and discussions. In addition, it will commission research, share tools and develop analytics around key indicators in professional sports – to be distributed amongst the membership as a benchmark and playbook towards ensuring a more fairly functioning workplace.

For more information, please visit: www.prosportsassembly.org (Website), @prosportsassembly (Instagram), @theproassembly (Twitter), https://www.linkedin.com/company/prosportsassembly (LinkedIn).

ABOUT TURNKEY SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Turnkey Search is a subsidiary of Turnkey Sports & Entertainment – a leading talent recruitment and executive search firm that has placed more than 1,000 roles at all levels in sports, media, & entertainment since 1996. Turnkey Search helps teams, leagues, venues, college athletic departments, events, agencies, brands, media & tech companies, private equity firms and others hire top talent. No other talent/recruitment firm is a more active sponsor, contributor & participant embedded in the sports, entertainment and media industry. For more information please visit www.TurnkeySearch.com or call 856-685-1450.