LIV Golf, the controversial golf tour backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), has announced a slew of executive hires.
LIV has unveiled David Phillipps as chief financial officer, Ross Hallett as head of events; Katie O’Reilly as head of team business operations; Tim Taylor in a new executive vice president role also leading LIV Golf’s London office; and Pam Sacree as head of human resources.
All of these new positions will be based in either LIV Golf’s New York or London offices, and will start over the coming weeks.
Phillipps joins LIV Golf from the Equinox Group, where he was chief financial officer of a global collective of luxury lifestyle brands including Equinox, Equinox Hotels, Soul Cycle, and Blink Fitness.
Phillipps will report to chief executive and commissioner Greg Norman, and will be responsible for the management of all financial planning and analysis, budgeting, accounting, tax, financial reporting, procurement, and related functions across the global business.
Hallett, meanwhile, most recently worked as senior vice president and head of golf events across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, for IMG. Hallett will report to chief operating officer (COO) Lawrence Burian and will be responsible for leading event delivery for all LIV Golf and International Series tournaments globally, including the development of events in new and emerging markets and further enhancement of LIV Golf’s guest experience.
O’Reilly will lead LIV Golf’s team business operations after serving as chief revenue officer for the Philadelphia 76ers, where she oversaw all team-controlled revenue across multiple verticals including ticket sales and service, corporate partnership sales and partnership marketing, broadcast, and merchandise.
She will be responsible for building and managing all aspects of team business efforts to drive effective operations and management, brand development, and commercialization while serving as the liaison between team management, team boards, and other core league-wide functions.
Sacree joins LIV Golf having most recently served as chief people officer with First Agency and then Blue Stream Fiber.
Sacree also reports to Burian, and is responsible for leading strategic people and engagement initiatives. She will be tasked with driving the league’s talent management and organizational transformation while fostering a culture of collaboration, growth and innovation across offices in New York, West Palm Beach, and London.
Taylor takes on new responsibilities after having managed LIV Golf’s global financial operations for over two years, and will help lead the continued growth of the league’s global business.
Chief executive and commissioner Greg Norman said: “LIV Golf is building a global organization with a team of talented professionals whose excellence is rivaled only by our players on the course.
“We’re proud to continue building on our tremendous success so far with the addition of top-flight executives across our business divisions. Our players, our team franchises, and our growing staff are laser-focused on the league’s long-term future, supporting the game, attracting more fans to the sport that we love, and establishing a truly international golf league.”
This year’s LIV Golf League features 14 events in eight countries, having begun in early February in Mexico. The next scheduled event will take place next weekend (between April 26 and 28), in Adelaide, Australia.
