Genius Sports appoints former MGM CFO as chair
Ex-MGM finance chief Kenneth Kay and ex-Snapchat VP Claire Valoti join the board, while former chair David Levy moves into an advisory role
Genius Sports has named former MGM Holdings CFO Kenneth Kay as its new chair as part of a host of changes at the supplier giant.
Kay will replace current chair David Levy, who will shift into a new strategic advisor role with the New York-listed firm.
Kay has been serving as an independent director to the Genius Sports board since March 2023.
He has held several CFO roles across various industries for companies such as Las Vegas Sands, Dole Food Company and CB Richard Ellis Group.
Levy, who also works concurrently as co-CEO of Horizon Sports and Experiences, had served as chair since April 2021.
Prior to that he spent 32 years as president of Turner Broadcasting from 1987 to 2019.
Meanwhile, ex-Snapchat vice-president Claire Valoti has been appointed as an independent director.
Valoti’s role will coincide with her position as founding partner at investment firm Haylo Ventures.
She has held independent non-executive director positions in the past, including with Howbout since March 2020, and MADE.com from May 2022 to January 2023.
Valoti spent seven years at Snapchat from January 2016 to May 2023, working her way up from general manager of Northern Europe to vice-president of international and finally vice-president of EMEA.
This was her second forray into the social media market, having previously worked as director of agency relations at Facebook from August 2013 to January 2016.
All of the personnel changes are effective as of June.
Speaking about the new appointments, Mark Locke, Genius Sports CEO, said, “I am thrilled to welcome the appointment of Ken Kay as our chair and Claire Valoti as a director.
“Their expertise and vision will be instrumental in driving the next phase of Genius Sports’ growth.
“I also want to extend my gratitude to David Levy for his service as chair since April 2021. I am pleased that David will continue to stay close to Genius Sports in an advisory capacity.”
Levy added: “I have greatly valued my time as chair of Genius Sports. I take pride in the strides that have been made to strengthen Genius Sports’ presence across sports, betting, media and broadcasting.
“I am delighted to continue my relationship and close connection with Genius Sports as a strategic advisor and will actively support the team in the exciting next chapter for the company.”
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