The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) governing body’s commercial wing, WTA Ventures, has announced a string of new appointments joining its executive leadership team.
Sarah Swanson, Marijn De Wit, and Aditya Shenoy have all joined the hierarchy at WTA Ventures and will report to the firm’s chief executive (CEO), Marina Storti.
Swanson will become chief brand officer at WTA Ventures, joining the company from the World Surf League (WSL), where she had served as chief marketing officer since 2020.
Prior to her role at WSL, Swanson was head of marketing at NFL UK, the National Football League’s UK business, overseeing a massive period of fan growth for the league.
The role of chief financial officer (CFO) at WTA Ventures will be taken up by Marijn De Wit, who served as CFO at Dutch live entertainment company Stage Entertainment between 2016 and 2022.
Shenoy, meanwhile, takes up the role of head of strategy development, with a cross-departmental purview. Shenoy joins from global broadcast giant BeIN Media Group, having also served in roles at broadcaster DAZN, and data agency Nielsen Sports, bringing a substantial background in sports and media.
The trio of new hires follows WTA Ventures’ addition of new chief consumer and digital officer Russell Cleeve earlier in 2024.
WTA Ventures was founded as a joint venture partnership between the WTA proper, and private equity firm CVC Capital Partners, in March.
The aim of the body is to manage the commercial aspects of women’s tennis, in order to develop and grow the sport worldwide.
Current CEO Marina Sorti was announced for the role in May 2023, but officially began later in the year, in August.
At the time, Sorti stated: “Tennis holds a unique place in the global sporting arena as the number one professional women’s sport with a huge fan base and an amazing array of athletes and tournaments.
“I feel passionate about the role that women’s tennis has to play in leading the broader development of professional women’s sport worldwide and I see a real opportunity for further growth.”
The majority of the WTA Ventures board, meanwhile, was unveiled in April.
