ARLINGTON, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mary O’Connor, who brings more than 17 years of sports and entertainment business management experience, has been appointed President of business operations for the Dallas Wings, one of twelve teams playing in the WNBA, which is marking its 20 anniversary this season as the world’s premier women’s professional basketball league.
“Mary’s built an impressive track record of business, marketing, entertainment, event and branding achievements in the sports industry working on notable high-profile initiatives for several global companies during her stellar career,” commented Bill Cameron, Chairman of the Dallas Wings. “As a proven executive with extensive experience and broad understanding of the sports business and the DFW market, she is the ideal person to spearhead our effort to create a greater presence and accelerate our growth.”
O’Connor’s sports business career includes holding senior positions at The Marketing Arm (TMA), a Dallas, Texas based sports marketing agency where she most recently served as Senior Vice President (SVP) of Sports focused on new business and driving strategy and market development initiatives. Prior to her promotions at TMA, she led the firm’s Olympic Marketing, Global Platform and Hospitality enterprises where she was instrumental in driving brand value by developing and executing integrated marketing and promotional initiatives for a variety of clients including AT&T and Hilton.
Prior to joining TMA, she served as a director at Carat Sponsorships Solutions where she consulted with clients including The Home Depot, New York Times and Schick on event marketing platforms. Additionally, she spent 5 years with General Motors Corporation serving in various sponsorship, communications, marketing and customer relations positions.
Dallas Wings vice chairman and managing partner Chris Christian said, “We are thrilled about Mary’s appointment to this important position in our organization. Mary’s ability to deliver solid results and her passion for women’s professional sports will be a valuable asset as we build the brand and business.”
“I am excited and honored to take on this new role as President of the Dallas Wings. I’ve admired the WNBA since the day it started play in 1997, and I believe the league is poised for growth under the energetic leadership of WNBA President Lisa Borders,” commented O’Connor. “The upside of the WNBA in DFW is truly limitless and I’m eager to work with the organization and league to ensure the Dallas Wings become engrained as a vibrant and vital member of the incredible professional sports scene in the market.”
About the Dallas Wings
After relocating from Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2015, the Dallas Wings will play their home games at College Park Center, a state-of-the-art 7,000-seat arena on the campus of the University of Texas at Arlington. The Dallas Wings opens their inaugural season at an historic moment when the league will celebrate its landmark 20th season. Since the WNBA began play in 1997, the WNBA has been the home for the best professional women’s basketball talent in the world.
The signing of Verizon as the WNBA’s new league-wide marquee partner has built momentum for the 2016 season, which started on May 14. For more information on the franchise, please visit Dallas Wings on Facebook, @DWingsHoops on Twitter, @DallasWingsBasketball on Instagram and www.dfw.wnba.com.
