CHRIS HECK

Senior Vice President, Team Business Operations
National Basketball Association
As NBA Senior Vice President of Team Business Operations, Chris Heck oversees experts in team sponsorship development, ticket sales, premium seating, marketing, and retention staff. Duties include managing team consulting infrastructure, sales and service training, data analysis and reporting, creating league intranet and content, and initiating team-specialized workshops.

Heck oversees the NBA Canada office in Toronto, and manages the day-to-day league business relationships with the Wizards, Celtics and Knicks. He previously managed relationships with the Lakers, Clippers and SuperSonics.

From 2004 through 2006, Heck's primary focus was managing the NBA's team sponsorship development group, which has seen double-digit growth each of the last three years; implementation of the industry’s most extensive reporting and management system; and establishing new advertising inventory that has increased team revenue totals and changed the sports-marketing industry. Heck has also directed the creation of the NBA's best practice intranet, which has become a staple function throughout the league.

Heck has also represented the NBA for team in-market restructuring management for teams in transition (Oklahoma City, New Orleans). He oversaw the sponsorship campaign for Oklahoma City, which resulted in selling five multimillion dollar agreements with the creation of their Pioneer Partners platform. Heck also managed the business operations transition for the Hornets’ successful return to New Orleans leading up to the 2007 season, which brought record-breaking premium seating and sponsorship sales.

Prior to joining the NBA, Heck worked with the Villanova Athletic Department as Vice President and General Manager for marketing rights holder ISP, where he oversaw a number of revenue streams within the athletic department, including TV, radio, corporate sponsorships and hospitality. Heck successfully negotiated sponsorships with Comcast Sportsnet, CSTV and Yes Network. Heck also served as an adjunct professor at Villanova’s business school.

Prior to his stint at Villanova, Heck worked for the Miami Heat as Director of Corporate Sales and Service, managing corporate sponsorship sales with the transition to American Airlines Arena, which resulted in a revenue growth of 200 percent for the department.

Heck also worked for the Philadelphia Eagles as Corporate Sales Manager, where in addition to selling regional sponsorships, he created and managed the NFL's first revenue-generating training camp.

In 2008, Heck was named to the SportsBusiness Journal Forty Under 40 list. He serves as a member of the Morristown Memorial Hospital Advisory Board, and as an adjunct professor teaching advanced marketing at Columbia University.

Heck resides in Madison, New Jersey with his wife, Mary Beth, and three children, Peyton (12), Madelyn (9) and Gavin (4).