Warriors Name Brandon Schneider Team President, COO To Succeed Hall-Of-Famer Rick Welts
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – The Golden State Warriors announced Tuesday that Brandon Schneider has been named the team's new President and Chief Operating Officer to succeed hall of famer Rick Welts.
Schneider first started with the team in 2002 as a season ticket account executive and has been promoted to numerous roles within the organization, including Executive Director of Ticket Sales, Senior Vice President of Business Development and most recently Chief Revenue Officer.
In his most recent role, Schneider oversaw ticket sales, service efforts, corporate partnerships, marketing and digital strategy and philanthropic efforts during a time when the Warriors were in the midst of multiple NBA championship runs and building the Chase Center in San Francisco. Schneider also oversaw operations for the Santa Cruz Warriors, the team's G-League franchise.
"For a young Bay Area kid who attended his first Warriors game with his dad in 1987—a quadruple overtime affair at that—to be in this position with this group of great people from top to bottom is unimaginable," Schneider said in a team statement.
Joe Lacob, Warriors CEO and majority owner said Schneider has "established a proven track record across several different job functions and, most importantly, has done so in any situation, regardless of the team's on-court success."
"In recent years, his ability to oversee multiple departments that have achieved never-seen-before results has been nothing short of amazing," Lacob went on to say.
Schneider succeeds Welts, an inductee of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame who helped guide the once struggling franchise into a powerhouse, culminating in five straight NBA Finals appearances and championships in 2015, 2017 and 2018.
Welts has been involved in the league for 46 years. In 2011, he became the highest-ranking executive in men's professional team sports to publicly acknowledge he was gay.
"To have had a front row seat to the growth of the NBA from where it was in the late 1960s to its place today as one of the most respected and successful leagues in sports on a global stage has been an incredible privilege," Welts said in a statement last week announcing his retirement.
Schneider will officially take over in July. Welts will continue to be associated with the Warriors as an advisor.