Honor the Heroes of the Game, Preserve its History, Promote its Values & Celebrate Excellence EVERYWHERE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE @ProFootballHOF 01/23/2017 HALL OF FAME’S SENIOR EXECUTIVE TEAM CANTON, OHIO – The Pro Football Hall of Fame Board of Trustees recently approved promotions of the organization’s top senior executives as recommended by Hall of Fame President and Chief Executive Officer David Baker. Baker, who has served as the Hall of Fame’s President since 2014, has added the responsibilities of CEO to his role. He made the following moves among his top executives. The Hall of Fame’s leadership team is shaped by Baker, George Veras, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Producer; Joe Horrigan, Executive Director; and Steve Strawbridge as Chief Administrative Officer. The Hall’s top management also includes Pete Fierle who currently serves as Chief of Staff and Vice President of Communications. • PHOTOS: Head shots for editorial use may be downloaded by clicking here: https://profootballhof.box.com/s/08op6majmi3b9jynmyredqmizi1tgg76 Veras will oversee the Hall of Fame’s overarching business initiatives while also leading its dynamic content strategy developed around the organization’s Mission, Values and Vision. He continues to oversee sponsorship, ticket sales, hospitality, guest services, social media, events, and television that has resulted in $15 million in revenue in 2015 that represented a 20% increase from the year before when he assumed duties as the Chief Revenue Officer. Veras has brought entertainment to the Hall of Fame that has included the addition of the Concert for Legends to the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Enshrinement Week COMMITMENT • INTEGRITY • COURAGE • RESPECT • EXCELLENCE Powered by Johnson Controls. Tim McGraw performed in 2016 and Aerosmith played the inaugural concert in 2015. A 10-time Emmy Award winner, Veras had led the Hall of Fame production team that creates daily content. In addition, he played a key role in producing “A Game for Life” immersive holographic theater that opened last summer at the Hall of Fame. Under Veras’s leadership, the Hall of Fame has created a number or partner related programs including the US Army Award for Excellence, Hometown Hall of Famer™ and the Fan Vote presented by Ford. He also secured numerous other major partners for the Hall of Fame including Centene and Goodyear. Veras was hired in 2009 as the President of Pro Football Hall of Fame Enterprise, a Hall of Fame for profit subsidiary that developed programs and Gold Jacket appearances in support of the Hall’s mission. He joined the Hall of Fame’s staff in 2014. Veras, a former ball boy for the New York Jets while in high school, graduated from New York University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Politics and a Master’s Degree in Public and Business Administration. He joined CBS Sports in 1981 and among his assignments, he served as producer for NFL Today and senior producer for the 1992 and 1994 Winter Olympics. He founded his production company, Veras Communications, in 1994, based on the success of the national PBS television special, “Yanni Live at the Acropolis.” He returned to his native Cleveland in 2005 to join the Cleveland Browns as Vice President of Marketing, Production and Broadcasting. Veras and his wife kimberly are the parents of four adult sons – Dimitri, Gregory, Alexander, and Christopher; and have one daughter-in-law, Jennifer. Horrigan, as the Hall of Fame’s Executive Director, will oversee all aspects of the museum and its related objectives as well as the continued administration of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Enshrinee Selection Process. Regarded as the world’s most renown historian on pro football, he has authored, co-authored, and edited several books on the subject including The Pro Football Hall of Fame Answer Book; Football Legends of All Time (with Bob Carroll); and most recently The Pro Football Hall of Fame’s 50th Anniversary Book (with John Thorn). A 40-year executive of the Hall of Fame and graduate of the University of Akron, Horrigan has served in a variety of positions within the organization including most recently as Executive Vice President of Museums, Selection Process and Chief Communications Officer. During his long history with the Hall of Fame he has been intimately involved in the development and implementation of several major renovations and expansions of the museum. Under his guidance the Hall of Fame has expanded its outreach to include several nationally televised specials related to the annual Enshrinee Selection process and the Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony. COMMITMENT • INTEGRITY • COURAGE • RESPECT • EXCELLENCE A regular contributor to NFL Films and NFL Network productions, Horrigan has been featured in several films and documentaries. He is also the co-host of the popular weekly national radio show, Pro Football Hall of Fame Radio on SiriusXM. Horrigan has served on several NFL and Team Committees, including the NFL’s 75th Anniversary Committee, the Washington Redskins 75th Anniversary Committee, and the Cleveland Browns Legends Committee. He currently serves on the Black College Football Hall of Fame Advisory Board and on the Board of Directors of ArtsInStark, a community arts council. He previously served on the Board of Trustees of the Ohio Museums Association, was co-founder and past- president of the Professional Football Researchers Association, and the recipient of that organization’s Ralph E. Hay Award (1991). He was elected to the Semi-Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1992 as a Historian. Horrigan also served as a member of the Editorial Board, Sports History Magazine and a member of the Board of Advisors for Sports Heritage Magazine. He and his wife Mary Ann are the parents of two adult sons, Daniel and Shaun. Strawbridge will lead the collaboration and align all of the Pro Football Hall of Fame departments while also serving as the Hall’s primary liaison for the $600 million Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village project under way on the Hall’s campus. He will also continue to oversee all aspects of the Hall of Fame’s merchandising department including on-site sales, e-commerce sales, collectibles sales and national distribution of Hall of Fame merchandise. In addition, Strawbridge leads the Hall’s licensing and marketing contracts along with Hall of Famer events and promotions. His responsibilities expanded over the past three years to include the oversight of Johnson Controls Hall of Fame Village, while currently focusing primarily on the design and construction of state-of-the-art Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, recently noted among the NFL’s top 13 game-changing stadiums by Forbes; and the National Football & Youth Sports Complex. Strawbridge will also oversee the construction of a four-star hotel, The Center of Excellence office building, a Performance Center which will include an indoor football field and basketball court, and Johnson Controls Hall of Experience (a state-of-the-art virtual reality attraction). Strawbridge joined the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2008 as the Vice President of Merchandising and Licensing. Prior to joining the Hall of Fame, he was Director of Merchandising for the Philadelphia Eagles for 12 years. Among his many successes with the team, he was responsible for 11 consecutive years of increased sales, including 2004 when the Eagles, for the first and only time in their history, ranked first in merchandise sales among all NFL teams. While at the Eagles, Strawbridge helped design aspects of Lincoln Financial Field. COMMITMENT • INTEGRITY • COURAGE • RESPECT • EXCELLENCE Strawbridge began his career in the retail industry as a fifth-generation member of the nationally prominent Strawbridge & Clothier department stores in Philadelphia. Strawbridge and his wife Lisa live in Hudson, Ohio and are proud parents of a daughter Bryn (16) and son Peter (14). Strawbridge is a graduate of Denison University in Granville, Ohio. Fierle, who was elevated to Chief of Staff in 2016, also serves as the Hall’s Vice President of Communications. In addition to overseeing media relations and all external communications, he coordinates internal communication and major company projects and initiatives as directed by the Office of the President. Among his responsibilities, Fierle shares the message of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s important mission to “Honor the Heroes of the Game, Preserve its History, Promote its Values & Celebrate Excellence EVERYWHERE.” Under his direction, the Hall of Fame’s publicity reach has grown nearly ten-fold in two years. He had served as Vice President of Communications and Special Assistant to the President since June 2014. Prior to that capacity, he was the Hall’s Manager - Digital Media/Communications. In that role, his responsibilities included overseeing all aspects of the Hall’s dynamic website from programming, promotion, and development for the site in addition to serving as the editor and writer. He also was responsible for the day- to-day management of the Hall of Fame’s Ralph Wilson Jr. Pro Football Research and Preservation Center, the world’s largest archive on pro football. In 2014, Fierle was bestowed the Ralph Hay Award by the Pro Football Researchers Association in recognition of “lifetime achievement in pro football research and historiography.” Fierle, who earned a B.A. in Speech Communication from Ithaca College, joined the Hall of Fame in 1988. His career in sports began as a spotter and statistician for NBC and has also included an internship with WIVB-TV (Buffalo) sports department, a post- graduate internship with the Buffalo Bills public relations department, and worked in the programming department at ESPN in Bristol, Conn. He is a current member of the Canton Strategy Group, a committee of business leaders shaping the vision for a growing city. He also serves on the Board for Leadership Stark County that offers various programs to fulfill its mission of developing a corps of motivated leaders.