A golf industry visionary, an international technology strategist, a major college athletic director and the CEO of one of America’s oldest life insurance companies are the newest members of the Back9 Network Board of Directors.
Greg Hopkins, Chief Executive Officer of Cleveland Golf/Srixon, Michael Michigami, former divisional President of United Technologies Corporation, Paul Pendergast, Athletic Director at the University of Connecticut, and James Wehr, President and CEO of The Phoenix Companies, join Pebble Beach Golf executive Paul Spengler on the board of the world’s first multimedia golf lifestyle and entertainment network.
“Our new Directors truly understand how to build and lead great organizations,” said James L. “Jamie” Bosworth, Chief Executive Officer of the Back9 Network.
“When you set out to build a global, technology-driven company like Back9, you need to surround yourself with people who have demonstrated how to execute growth and profitability on a world-wide scale.”
Bosworth, a former executive with golf brands such as Ben Hogan, Callaway Golf, Cleveland Golf, Odyssey Golf and Top-Flite, leads a premier management team of media and golf industry veterans in launching the new network.
Greg Hopkins is credited with turning around Cleveland Golf when he assumed a leadership role in the late 1990’s, reshaping the company’s product line, incorporating new technology, and boosting the company’s presence on the professional tours. Sales skyrocketed 500% during the first seven years of his tenure.
Michael Michigami led the Control Systems division at United Technologies (UTX), was President and CEO of Datapoint Corporation (DPT), and Chairman and CEO of Digital Microwave Corporation (STXN). He is currently a director and consultant to global technology companies.
Before becoming Athletic Director at the University of Connecticut, Paul Pendergast served as President of the Saint Francis Foundation and the Senior Vice President of Development for Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford, CT. Before joining St. Francis, Mr. Pendergast served as the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Development at the UCONN Division of Athletics from 1998 to 2006. He was responsible for growing the university’s donor base during its meteoric rise to national prominence.
James Wehr is currently the President and Chief Executive Officer of The Phoenix Companies, Inc. where he was appointed in April 2009 after serving as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer. Mr. Wehr joined Phoenix in 1981 and has a diverse background in finance and investment related disciplines.
Back9 Network will be the premier multimedia lifestyle and entertainment network for golf fans globally. It is being constructed on a multi-platform digital system, providing simultaneous distribution over the Internet and mobile devices. As much a lifestyle network as a sports channel, Back9 will differ from its competitors by focusing on the intrinsic “story” of the sport and examining the players and the world in which golf resides. The network plans to be broadcasting by early summer 2012.
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