Lustgarten to Take on New Role as Director on
MSG Sports’ Board Starting January 1
MSG Sports’ David Hopkinson Becomes
President and COO
Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. (NYSE: MSGS) (“MSG Sports”)
today announced that Andrew Lustgarten, MSG Sports’ President and
Chief Executive Officer, is stepping down from his position at the
end of the calendar year, and will join MSG Sports’ Board of
Directors, effective January 1, 2023. In addition, the Company
announced that David Hopkinson, who joined MSG Sports in 2020 as
Executive Vice President MSG Sports, President of Team Business
Operations, has been named President and Chief Operating Officer,
effective immediately.
During his successful, 8-year tenure, Mr. Lustgarten has led
both MSG’s sports and entertainment companies, playing a critical
role in overseeing MSG’s assets and in helping to spearhead
strategic initiatives and transactions throughout an unprecedented
period of change. In 2020, this included leading the spin-off of
MSG Entertainment from MSG Sports, the latter of which he then
quickly positioned as one of the world’s leading sports
organizations. His commitment to driving and enhancing MSG Sports’
operations, while continuing to navigate through the COVID-19
pandemic, helped the Company achieve record financial results for
fiscal year 2022. As part of MSG Sports’ Board of Directors, Mr.
Lustgarten will continue to utilize his expertise to further the
overall advancement of the Company.
Mr. Hopkinson joined MSG Sports in October 2020 and since then,
has helped to drive new innovations while optimizing business
operations, including marketing, ticketing, and the in-game
experience. In his new role as President and COO, Mr. Hopkinson
will be responsible for setting the Company’s business strategy and
overseeing all aspects of business operations for its collection of
marquee professional sports franchises – the New York Knicks, New
York Rangers, Westchester Knicks, Hartford Wolf Pack, Counter Logic
Gaming and Knicks Gaming. The Company has chosen not to name a new
Chief Executive Officer at this time and MSG Sports Executive
Chairman James Dolan will continue to oversee team operations for
the Knicks and Rangers.
Mr. Dolan said: “Over the last eight years, Andy’s leadership at
both our sports and entertainment companies has helped solidify
MSG’s position as an industry leader. He has successfully driven
several strategic initiatives to grow and diversify our companies,
including the separation of MSG Sports and MSG Entertainment and
the acquisition of Tao Group. We have no doubt, as he embarks on
his next chapter, that this is just the beginning of what he will
accomplish. We are grateful for everything he has done and look
forward to his continued contributions as part of MSG Sports’
board.”
Mr. Dolan added: “Over the past couple of years, David has
worked with Andy and the MSG Sports management team on guiding the
company through an extremely challenging time. David’s leadership
helped drive significant financial growth and also helped ensure
the company is well positioned for the long term. As we look to the
future, I am confident that David’s decades of considerable and
diverse experience working with world-class sports franchises makes
him the ideal executive to seize the opportunities that lay
ahead.”
Mr. Lustgarten said: “I am proud of what we’ve accomplished at
MSG Sports. In addition to navigating through COVID and reporting
record financial results for this past year, we’ve put in place our
future growth strategies and have assembled a strong and seasoned
management team to lead the way. With the company on firm footing
and the NBA and NHL seasons set to start soon, this is the right
time for me to pursue new opportunities. I am enormously grateful
to Jim and everyone at MSG, and look forward to continuing to work
with him and the rest of the MSG Sports team in my new role.”
Mr. Hopkinson said: “MSG Sports is made up of some of the most
iconic brands in all of sports. There is so much opportunity for
growth and to further expand MSG’s position as a leader in sports.
I am honored to take on this new role and look forward to working
with the extraordinary people across MSG Sports to continue
delivering excellence across our operations and to realize the
enormous potential ahead of us.”
Andrew Lustgarten
Over his eight years with the MSG family of companies, Mr.
Lustgarten has held several important leadership positions. In
addition to President and CEO of MSG Sports, Mr. Lustgarten
simultaneously served as President of MSG Entertainment for two
years and, prior to that, served as President of The Madison Square
Garden Company, during which time he oversaw all of the company’s
operations, including the bookings business for all of MSG’s iconic
venues and the Radio City Rockettes. Mr. Lustgarten also served on
both the NBA and NHL Board of Governors. Mr. Lustgarten has also
played a critical role in overseeing various transactions that have
helped shape the MSG companies, including the 2020 spin-off of MSG
Entertainment from MSG Sports, which established brand-new Arena
License Agreements between the Madison Square Garden Arena and the
Knicks and Rangers, and the 2015 spin-off of The Madison Square
Garden Company from MSG Networks, which was highlighted by 20-year
media deals for the Knicks and Rangers.
Mr. Lustgarten also helped spearhead the sale of the Forum arena
in Inglewood, California for $400 million and MSG’s acquisition of
a controlling interest in Tao Group Hospitality, which was later
merged with Hakkasan Group, bringing together two world-renowned
hospitality groups. Other transactions designed to help diversify
the Company’s sports and entertainment portfolio have included
investments in Boston Calling Events, which produces the Boston
Calling Music Festival, and Counter Logic Gaming, a North American
esports organization. Mr. Lustgarten played an important role in
marketing partnerships, helping to forge several expansive deals
with numerous marquee companies and driving participation in
innovative new opportunities, including the newly emerging New York
sports gaming market. One example is the integral role Mr.
Lustgarten played in driving the Company’s investment in and
partnership with DraftKings.
Mr. Lustgarten is Chairman of the Board of the Lustgarten
Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research, the nation’s largest
private supporter of pancreatic cancer research, which James Dolan,
who serves as Vice Chairman, and the MSG companies also proudly
support.
David Hopkinson
Mr. Hopkinson joined MSG Sports in 2020, bringing with him a
multi-faceted career in the sports and entertainment industries
that spans more than 25 years. Prior to MSG Sports, he served as
Global Head of Partnerships for Real Madrid Club de Futbol, one of
the world’s top revenue-generating football clubs, where he was
responsible for all aspects of global partnerships. Prior to
joining Real Madrid in 2018, Mr. Hopkinson spent over 20 years with
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) in roles of increasing
responsibility. In his last role with MLSE, Mr. Hopkinson served as
Chief Commercial Officer, where he was responsible for all revenue
generation (ticket sales and services, global partnerships, food
and beverage and retail operations) across MLSE’s portfolio of
teams, which includes the Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL), Toronto
Raptors (NBA), Toronto FC (MLS) and Toronto Argonauts (CFL).
A native of Toronto, Canada, Mr. Hopkinson has served on the
Chancellor’s Advisory Committee at McGill University in Montreal,
in addition to the Boards of Canada Basketball, Canada’s Walk of
Fame, and Women’s College Hospital Foundation in Toronto. In 2013,
he was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in
recognition of Service to Canada.
About Madison Square Garden Sports Corp.
Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. (MSG Sports) is a leading
professional sports company, with a collection of assets that
includes: the New York Knicks (NBA) and the New York Rangers (NHL);
two development league teams – the Westchester Knicks (NBAGL) and
the Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL); and esports teams through Counter
Logic Gaming, a North American esports organization, and Knicks
Gaming, an NBA 2K League franchise. MSG Sports also operates two
professional sports team performance centers – the MSG Training
Center in Greenburgh, NY and the CLG Performance Center in Los
Angeles, CA. More information is available at
www.msgsports.com.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220909005503/en/
Patrick Rees / (212) 465-5998 / Patrick.Rees@msgsports.com
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