Biographies

Rick Cordella

President of NBC Sports

RICK CORDELLA – PRESIDENT, NBC SPORTS

 Rick Cordella is President, NBC Sports. He assumed the role in September 2023, and oversees all aspects of NBC Sports’ collection of brands and platforms, which includes NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, Golf Channel, NBC Sports Digital and two transactional sports businesses, GolfNow and SportsEngine. In addition, Cordella works with NBC Local on the company’s Regional Sports Network strategy, and he also oversees Sports on Peacock, home to the most live sports of any streamer.

 He joined NBCU in 2006, and has served in a variety of leadership roles. In 2022, Cordella was named President, Programming, NBC Sports and Peacock Sports, where he led NBCU’s sports programming strategy across broadcast, cable and streaming, as well all oversaw sports betting, sports fantasy and related efforts.

Cordella previously served as Chief Commercial Officer, Peacock, NBCUniversal, where he led business efforts across several content pillars, including sports, streaming channels, and live events. Under his leadership, Peacock’s Editorial and Content Operations teams developed and executed content strategy driving consumer engagement. Cordella was instrumental leading Peacock’s record-breaking start to 2022 with two of the biggest sporting events in the world, the most-streamed Olympics and most-streamed Super Bowl in history.

Previously, Cordella served as Peacock’s Chief Revenue Officer, responsible for launching the service’s product, programming and content strategy, live content partnership management, monetization, editorial, channels, standards & practices, and program acquisition of topical, short-form and sports content. Prior to Peacock, he served as Executive Vice President and General Manager, Digital Media, NBC Sports Group. In his former role, he oversaw all aspects of NBC Sports Group Digital: direct-to-consumer services, including NBC Sports Gold; NBCSports.com; NBCOlympics,com; Rotoworld.com; the NBC Sports Talk franchises, inclusive of Mike Florio’s ProFootballTalk; and the NBC Sports, NBC Sports Talk and NBC Sports Scores apps.

 Under Cordella’s leadership, NBC Sports Digital streamed the Olympics, NFL games, and the Super Bowl (2012), among many firsts, while hosting thousands of on-demand video clips, in addition to streaming more than 10,000 events in 2018 across NBC, NBCSN, Golf Channel, Telemundo, NBCUniverso and six NBC Sports Regional Networks. He began as General Manager for NBC Sports Digital in 2009, and expanded responsibility and leadership, ultimately becoming Executive Vice President and General Manager in September 2016. During this time, Cordella served on the Board of Directors of Fanduel.

 Cordella previously served as General Manager, Fantasy Sports, where he managed NBC Sports’ fantasy sports properties, including Rotoworld.com, SnapDraft.com, Allstarstats.com and Sandbox.com. He joined NBC Sports in August 2006 with NBCUniversal’s acquisition of AllStar Stats, Inc., the parent company of Rotoworld.com. As Rotoworld’s general manager, Cordella handled all day-to-day duties including management, product development, computer programming, and ad sales.

 A six-time Sports Emmy Award-winner, Cordella was named one of SportsBusiness Journal’s “Forty Under Forty” as one of the best and the brightest of the rising generation in sports business in 2012 and 2014. Cordella earned a B.S. degree in Business Management with a minor in Computer Science from Providence College, and he was a member of the Providence Friar men’s basketball team that reached the NCAA Elite Eight in 1997. He holds an MBA from Boston College.

Cordella resides in Westport, Connecticut, with his wife and five children.

Rob Simmelkjaer, CEO New York Road Runners

Rob Simmelkjaer became Chief Executive Officer of New York Road Runners in December 2022. He is a two-time New York City Marathon finisher, native New Yorker, and experienced sports business executive and government official, with a record of leadership across a range of sports brands and media organizations.

 During Rob’s tenure at NYRR, the organization has experienced a significant running boom with nearly every race selling out at a record pace and the organization inking new partnerships with Peloton, Maybelline New York, Citizens, Runna, and iHeart Media New York. Rob has paved the way for innovation, beginning with the expansion of NYRR’s free community programming, as NYRR announced a multi-million-dollar, five-year initiative in partnership with New York City Public Schools to create middle school running teams for city youth, helping to remove barriers to fitness. He has elevated the nonprofit’s sustainability efforts, launching NYRR Team for Climate, a new entry method for marquee races for runners to support sustainability efforts with the goal of achieving Net Zero by 2040. Additionally, he has inspired action among the community through the power of storytelling, most notably as the co-host of NYRR’s Set the Pace podcast. 

 Prior to New York Road Runners, Rob worked at ESPN serving in positions of increasing responsibility and impact as Vice President of International Development, Vice President and Assistant to the President, and Director of NBA Programming. In 2011, he was named Senior Vice President of NBC Sports Ventures, where he led new business development and created and oversaw several NBC Sports properties.

 In addition to his executive roles, Rob has served as an on-air contributor for ABC News, ESPN, NBC Sports, NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC, and the Tennis Channel. He anchored MSNBC’s coverage of the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. 

 Rob is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School. He practiced law in New York City at Weil, Gotshal and Manges and Cravath, Swaine & Moore. Rob has two daughters named Julia and Annika and two Whoodles named Mookie and Frankie, all of whom keep him very busy.

Andrew Marchand - Sports and Sports Media Journalist

Andrew Marchand is a Sr. Sports Media Columnist for The Athletic and runs his own podcast company, Marchand Sports Media. He previously worked for the New York Post and ESPN, where he predominantly covered sports media and baseball. In 2023, Marchand was named one of five finalists for The Big Lead's "Insider of the Year" in all of sports. This past February, Marchand won first place for beat writing from the Associated Press Sports Editors national awards.

 Marchand had two stints in Westport as a kid between living in Miami. He graduated from Staples in 1996.