ATLANTA (August 28, 2023) – PlayOn! Sports, a leading high school media and technology company, announced today the appointment of two new members to its Board of Directors: Michael Paull, former President of Direct to Consumer at Disney Entertainment, and Heather Friedland, Chief Product Officer (CPO) at Ancestry.
“The PlayOn! leadership team and I are thrilled to welcome Michael and Heather to our Board of Directors,”said David Rudolph, PlayOn! founder and CEO. “We look forward to their contributions as we continue to scale across streaming, digital ticketing, and event management for school athletics and activities.”
Paull has more than 20 years of experience in product development, technology, media and content distribution. As the President of Direct to Consumer for Disney Entertainment, he oversaw Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, and Star+ globally. In this role, Paull led strategic initiatives in marketing, product, technology, data science and business operations for the streaming services, along with programming and content curation.
Paull joined The Walt DisneyCompany in 2017 with the acquisition of BAMTECH Media, where he served as CEO.Prior to joining BAMTECH, Paull was Vice President, Digital Video at Amazon, where he ran Prime Video Channels worldwide and was responsible for its global content, product, technology, operations and marketing. Before Amazon, he led Sony Music’s digital business worldwide and held other senior leadership positions with Sony Pictures Entertainment, FOX Entertainment Group and TimeWarner.
Friedland has more than two decades of experience in product management and is currently responsible for evolving the Ancestry product experience to be more collaborative and social in helping families discover and craft their stories together. Prior to joining Ancestry, she was the CPO and SVP at Glassdoor, where she led the product, design, international, and customer care and moderation teams through a period of rapid growth that culminated in the $1.2B acquisition of Glassdoor by RecruitHoldings. Friedland joined Glassdoor from eBay, where she served as VicePresident of Local and Seller Experience. Before eBay, she held a variety of product and leadership roles at Microsoft.
“Michael and Heather will be tremendous assets to the PlayOn! Board of Directors,” said Mark Buffington, co-founder and CEO of BIP Ventures. “I am confident that their vast experience in media and technology will be instrumental in driving the future growth of the company.”
“We look forward to collaborating with Heather and Michael and are confident that their valuable skills and deep expertise across product development and media will helpPlayOn! further its mission of empowering high school athletic programs and innovating for the benefit of fans and families across the country,” said Ted Oberwager, Partner at KKR.
About PlayOn! Sports
The future of high school athletics and activities is powered by PlayOn! Sports. Through the NFHSNetwork, GoFan, rSchoolToday, and VNN, the PlayOn! team elevates the event experience for schools and fans across streaming, digital ticketing, scheduling, and sports marketing. For more information, visit www.playonsports.com.
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