Endeavor, the global sports and entertainment company, has named Guy Schory, a former executive at US-based e-commerce retailer eBay, as chief digital officer.
In the newly-created role, Schory will operate Endeavor’s direct-to-consumer and business-to-business entities, including Endeavor Streaming, the live and on-demand video streaming products and services arm.
Schory will head up Endeavor’s digital efforts across product management, marketing, data platforms, advertising and commerce.
He previously held different leadership roles at eBay and PayPal, the online payments system acquired by eBay in 2002 and spun off as a separate company 12 years later.
Endeavor, which houses the IMG sports marketing agency and the WME talent agency, renamed its video streaming distribution operations as Endeavor Streaming at the start of the year. This followed the merging of operations in the wake of the $250m acquisition of live streaming technology company NeuLion in 2018.
Ari Emanuel, Endeavor’s chief executive, said: “As Endeavor continues to evolve, our ability to create innovative digital businesses, products and experiences for our clients and platform matters now more than ever. Guy is a strategic executive who has the experience operating world-class businesses at scale and the expertise required to take us to the next level.”
Schory added that Endeavor is “uniquely positioned to deliver exceptional digital products and experiences for a wide variety of audiences given our global network across entertainment, sports and content”.
Having joined eBay in 2006, Schory took the lead on scaling key capabilities in commerce and payments, including mergers and acquisitions, research and development, strategic partnerships and innovation programmes. He assumed responsibility for various consumer mobile products and digital marketing platforms.
Since leaving eBay in 2016, Schory has become a member on the board of technology and commerce companies Timbuk2, Dataminr and BlueVoyant.
Clients of Endeavor Streaming include World Wrestling Entertainment, the NFL, NBA, EuroLeague, Sky and Eleven Sports.
Since the NeuLion purchase and renaming, Endeavor Streaming has been jointly led by Nick Wilson, Endeavor’s chief technology officer, and Will Staeger, president of business operations, and run by a single management team. Both Wilson and Staeger retain their management roles following Schory’s appointment.
NeuLion operations have been merged into Endeavor’s existing streaming services and internally developed platform technology. Offices in New York, London and Shanghai are now running the combined platform development operations.
Endeavor (and its constituent companies) have made increased moves in the OTT space in the last two years, establishing products such as Serie A Pass and Strive to show top-tier football content, along with the Professional Bull Riders’ RidePass and enhancing the UFC’s Fight Pass service.