Thunder Executive Staff
Danny Barth | Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer
Danny Barth begins his 12th season as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder franchise. Last season, he was named Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer. He served as the team's interim President and Chief Executive Officer for two seasons in Seattle before the move to Oklahoma City.
Prior to being named the interim President and CEO on Oct. 31, 2006, Barth spent six seasons as the team's chief financial officer. He served as vice president of finance and controller in his first four years with the franchise. As CFO from 2000-2006, Barth managed the company's information technology group as well as all of its financial aspects including budgeting and treasury functions, taxes and internal/external reporting responsibilities.
Barth began his career with Price Waterhouse LLC where he spent six years in the audit division at the corporation's Seattle and New York offices specializing in retail and investment banking. Prior to joining the Sonics and Storm, he was director of finance and accounting at Cinnabon, Inc. where he helped oversee the expansion and financing of the company's growth from 52 stores to more than 250.
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Sam Presti | Executive Vice President and General Manager
The 2010-11 season marks the fourth year for Sam Presti as the Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Professional Basketball Club Chairman Clayton Bennett appointed Presti to his current position on June 7, 2007.
During his tenure with the Thunder, Presti has assembled the building blocks for long-term success both on and off the court. Commencing with the 2007 draft, Presti selected Kevin Durant, the University of Texas standout with the team's No. 2 overall pick. Since then, Durant has gone onto win the NBA's Rookie Of The Year award and most recently he became the youngest player in NBA history to win the league's scoring title after averaging 30.1 points per game during the 2009-10 season.
This last year, Presti oversaw one of the largest turnarounds in NBA history. A year after winning 23 games, the Thunder concluded the 2009-10 season with a record of 50-32 (.610). The 27-win improvement was tied for the ninth largest in NBA history.
Through the NBA draft, Presti has continued to add the pieces needed to achieve the organization's singular focus of sustaining success on the floor and in the community. Most notably, Presti selected forward Jeff Green (No. 5 overall) on draft night 2007 through a trade with the Boston Celtics, UCLA guard Russell Westbrook with the teams No. 4 overall selection in 2008 and Arizona State guard James Harden with the No. 3 overall selection in 2009.
This past summer, Presti acquired the draft rights to Kansas big man Cole Aldrich with the No. 11 overall selection after completing a flurry of draft night trades. In all, the Thunder completed an NBA-high five draft night deals.
Since moving to Oklahoma City in July of 2008, Presti has stressed the importance of community involvement for both Thunder players and staff. Under his leadership, the Thunder has made more than 450 community appearances in and around Oklahoma City.
Prior to joining the Thunder, the 33-year-old Presti held a variety of roles with the San Antonio Spurs from 2000 to 2007. Most recently, he served as the team's assistant general manager from September of 2005 - June of 2007. Presti led the design and implementation of the Spurs scouting database, a system that is now being used by numerous teams throughout the NBA.
Presti earned his bachelor's degree in 2000 in communications, politics and law from Emerson College in Boston, where he was the first Rhodes Scholar nominee in school history. The Concord, Mass. native was a four-year basketball letterman and served as team captain his junior and senior seasons. In addition, Presti earned All-Academic honors two times and was also twice selected to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference All-Tournament team. He was honored with the Emerson College Young Alumnus Award in 2005.
An accomplished drummer, Presti has produced three music CDs with all proceeds benefiting the Extra Ordinary Needs Fund at Children's Hospital in Boston.
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Brian M. Byrnes | Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing
Brian Byrnes joined the Oklahoma City franchise in April 2005 and serves as
the team's senior vice president of Sales and Marketing. Byrnes' responsibilities
include oversight of ticket sales, retention and operations; premium seating sales and
hospitality; marketing strategies such as brand development, advertising, promotions,
database management and event presentation.
One of the first employees in Oklahoma City in 2009, Byrnes led the effort to build the initial ticket request list and successfully steered the sale of 13,000 full season tickets. Equally as important was the development of the in-arena experience – quickly earning national recognition as one of the loudest and most fun NBA venues. The fan engagement is fueled with initiatives such as pre-game activities in Thunder Alley, interactive experiences on the concourse and throughout Loud City and the participation of Rumble, the team's iconic mascot.
Previously, Byrnes served as executive vice president of business operations for the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes. In Phoenix, Byrnes led several initiatives to stimulate growth in ticket sales, ticket revenue, suite leases and corporate partnerships. He was also the catalyst for re-branding the organization with a new corporate identity and team uniforms.
The new branding campaign coincided with Byrnes' key objective of transitioning the organization and arena management group into a new arena in Glendale, Arizona. Throughout construction, he was responsible for brand integration, sight lines, premium and regular seating environments, luxury suite design and hospitality venues ensuring that every detail added to the warmth of the Coyotes' home ice. Byrnes' strong leadership skills were an asset to the Coyotes organization and quickly earned him the respect of employees, media and community leaders.
Prior to joining the Coyotes, Byrnes built nearly 10 years of experience with the NHL's Dallas Stars and MLB's Texas Rangers. As an original employee of the Stars' front office in 1993, he was instrumental in the Stars' ascension from a start-up franchise to being recognized as 'best in class' by the end of the decade. With Byrnes' guidance, the Stars led the league in ticket revenue by the 2001-02 season with 15,000 season ticket holders, a waiting list of more than 5,000 people and a record sellout streak of 194 consecutive games.
In 1999, Southwest Sports Group was formed to manage the combined sales and marketing operations of the Stars, Rangers, Mesquite Championship Rodeo and Frisco RoughRiders minor-league baseball team. Byrnes efficiently managed the fully integrated programs to leverage each franchise and maximize sales platforms. In 2001, Byrnes led a successful campaign to transition the Stars into a new venue, American Airlines Center, which led to his recruitment in Phoenix.
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Scott Loft | Vice President of Ticket Sales, Retention and Data Base Operations
Scott Loft, vice president of Ticket Sales, Retention and Database Operations for the Thunder, is an industry veteran with more than 20 years of professional sports leadership experience in the National Football League, National Hockey League and National Basketball Association.
Loft joined the Thunder in 2010 after three seasons with the Miami Dolphins and is responsible for the Thunder's overall strategy and tactics for all ticket sales, retention and database operations including season ticket sales, group ticket sales, executive suites and Club Level memberships.
Loft's sports career started with the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers, where he spent nine seasons, culminating as the director of ticket sales. After his stint with the NBA, Loft became one of the first employees with the NHL's expansion Nashville Predators, where his ticket sales team became the first NHL or NBA franchise to qualify for expansion by selling more than 12,000 season tickets before the NHL franchise was awarded to the city of Nashville.
After five seasons in the NHL, Loft joined the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars as executive director of ticket sales and marketing. Loft was chosen to be the Jaguars' sole attendee at the inaugural NFL Management Program at Stanford during the 2003 season, and his five years in Jacksonville were highlighted by the local oversight of the ticketing functions for Super Bowl XXXIX, which was played in Jacksonville in 2005. Loft then continued his NFL career with the Miami Dolphins, where he stayed until he joined the Thunder.
Prior to his career in sports, Loft received his undergraduate degree from Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., and his master's degree from Temple University in Philadelphia.
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Dan Mahoney | Vice President, Communications and Community Relations
Dan Mahoney joined the Oklahoma City Thunder as vice president of Corporate
Communications and Community Relations in August 2008. In that role he oversees
the Thunder's business public relations efforts, website (THUNDER.NBA.COM), broadcasting operation and community
relations outreach.
From 1995-2003 he was director of communications for Gov. Frank Keating of Oklahoma. He later worked with Gov. Keating as senior vice president of communications and public affairs at the American Council of Life Insurers in Washington, D.C.
Consulting with the Gooden Group of Edmond, Okla., Mahoney coordinated public relations efforts for the Skirvin Hilton Hotel, a historic Oklahoma City landmark which reopened in 2007 after being closed for 18 years. He also assisted the Hornets during their relocation and two-year stay in Oklahoma City from 2005-07.
As director of communications for Gov. Keating, Mahoney was responsible for public information coordination for the State of Oklahoma and the governor's office. That included the public information efforts during the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Following that tragedy, he consulted businesses and other government agencies on crisis communications.
Mahoney spent 18 years in radio and television as a news director, news reporter and sportscaster in Richmond, Va.; Albuquerque, N.M.; and Oklahoma City. He is a native of Philadelphia and attended Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of New Mexico.
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Katy Semtner | Vice President, Human Resources
Katy Semtner is beginning her eighth season with the Oklahoma City
Franchise. She serves as the team's vice president of Human Resources. Semtner's
responsibilities include oversight of payroll, benefits, employee relations, recruiting and
selection and performance management.
Semtner has over nine years of experience in human resources in the hospitality and entertainment industry. She is a member of the Society for Human Resources Management, the Oklahoma City Human Resources Society, the NBA HR Round Table and the Bricktown Rotary Club.
She has held her PHR certification since 2003. The Seattle native is a graduate of the University of California at San Diego where she was a member of the varsity crew team.
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Pete Winemiller | Senior Vice President, Guest Relations
Pete Winemiller begins his 15th NBA season with the Oklahoma City franchise as the senior vice president of Guest Relations. He began in 1995 as the Director of Ticket Sales, but has since taken on the role of managing the organization's Guest Relations department and hospitality initiatives. In addition, Winemiller has established a training division for the organization. The focus of his training effort is educating Thunder frontline staff and business alliance partners on the concept he developed entitled "CLICK!™ with your Guests."
Winemiller has consulted with several NBA and WNBA teams, other professional sports leagues and with organizations outside of pro sports regarding their customer service models. He has been a keynote speaker at numerous national events, including the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals, the North American Conference on Customer Management, the Customer Care Institute and the Conference on Achieving Customer Service Excellence. Winemiller has been an invited guest at Arizona State University, University of Oregon and the University of Washington, sharing his business perspective with undergraduate students, graduate students and business executives.
As the author of many articles on customer service, Winemiller has been quoted in several national publications including FORTUNE Magazine, 1 to 1 Magazine, Sales and Service Excellence Magazine and Customer Service Advantage. Winemiller has been recognized by 1 to 1 Magazine as one of a select few executives in North America to be honored as a "Customer Champion."
Previous to his work at the Thunder, Winemiller spent 15 years in the sports and entertainment industry. He has held sales and marketing executive positions with Seattle's Paramount Theatre, Seattle's SEAFAIR Festival, Portland's Rose Festival Association, Pro-Tec Sport Helmets, Bob Walsh and Associates and the Seattle Goodwill Games.
Winemiller is a graduate of Washington State University and an alumnus of the Disney Institute in Orlando, FL. He serves on the 1 to 1 Magazine Editorial Advisory Board, the Customer Service Advantage Advisory Panel and the University of Washington Intercollegiate Athletic Advisory Board.
Danny Barth begins his 12th season as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder franchise. Last season, he was named Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer. He served as the team's interim President and Chief Executive Officer for two seasons in Seattle before the move to Oklahoma City.
Prior to being named the interim President and CEO on Oct. 31, 2006, Barth spent six seasons as the team's chief financial officer. He served as vice president of finance and controller in his first four years with the franchise. As CFO from 2000-2006, Barth managed the company's information technology group as well as all of its financial aspects including budgeting and treasury functions, taxes and internal/external reporting responsibilities.
Barth began his career with Price Waterhouse LLC where he spent six years in the audit division at the corporation's Seattle and New York offices specializing in retail and investment banking. Prior to joining the Sonics and Storm, he was director of finance and accounting at Cinnabon, Inc. where he helped oversee the expansion and financing of the company's growth from 52 stores to more than 250.
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Sam Presti | Executive Vice President and General Manager
The 2010-11 season marks the fourth year for Sam Presti as the Executive Vice President and General Manager of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Professional Basketball Club Chairman Clayton Bennett appointed Presti to his current position on June 7, 2007.During his tenure with the Thunder, Presti has assembled the building blocks for long-term success both on and off the court. Commencing with the 2007 draft, Presti selected Kevin Durant, the University of Texas standout with the team's No. 2 overall pick. Since then, Durant has gone onto win the NBA's Rookie Of The Year award and most recently he became the youngest player in NBA history to win the league's scoring title after averaging 30.1 points per game during the 2009-10 season.
This last year, Presti oversaw one of the largest turnarounds in NBA history. A year after winning 23 games, the Thunder concluded the 2009-10 season with a record of 50-32 (.610). The 27-win improvement was tied for the ninth largest in NBA history.
Through the NBA draft, Presti has continued to add the pieces needed to achieve the organization's singular focus of sustaining success on the floor and in the community. Most notably, Presti selected forward Jeff Green (No. 5 overall) on draft night 2007 through a trade with the Boston Celtics, UCLA guard Russell Westbrook with the teams No. 4 overall selection in 2008 and Arizona State guard James Harden with the No. 3 overall selection in 2009.
This past summer, Presti acquired the draft rights to Kansas big man Cole Aldrich with the No. 11 overall selection after completing a flurry of draft night trades. In all, the Thunder completed an NBA-high five draft night deals.
Since moving to Oklahoma City in July of 2008, Presti has stressed the importance of community involvement for both Thunder players and staff. Under his leadership, the Thunder has made more than 450 community appearances in and around Oklahoma City.
Prior to joining the Thunder, the 33-year-old Presti held a variety of roles with the San Antonio Spurs from 2000 to 2007. Most recently, he served as the team's assistant general manager from September of 2005 - June of 2007. Presti led the design and implementation of the Spurs scouting database, a system that is now being used by numerous teams throughout the NBA.
Presti earned his bachelor's degree in 2000 in communications, politics and law from Emerson College in Boston, where he was the first Rhodes Scholar nominee in school history. The Concord, Mass. native was a four-year basketball letterman and served as team captain his junior and senior seasons. In addition, Presti earned All-Academic honors two times and was also twice selected to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference All-Tournament team. He was honored with the Emerson College Young Alumnus Award in 2005.
An accomplished drummer, Presti has produced three music CDs with all proceeds benefiting the Extra Ordinary Needs Fund at Children's Hospital in Boston.
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Brian M. Byrnes | Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing
Brian Byrnes joined the Oklahoma City franchise in April 2005 and serves as
the team's senior vice president of Sales and Marketing. Byrnes' responsibilities
include oversight of ticket sales, retention and operations; premium seating sales and
hospitality; marketing strategies such as brand development, advertising, promotions,
database management and event presentation.
One of the first employees in Oklahoma City in 2009, Byrnes led the effort to build the initial ticket request list and successfully steered the sale of 13,000 full season tickets. Equally as important was the development of the in-arena experience – quickly earning national recognition as one of the loudest and most fun NBA venues. The fan engagement is fueled with initiatives such as pre-game activities in Thunder Alley, interactive experiences on the concourse and throughout Loud City and the participation of Rumble, the team's iconic mascot.
Previously, Byrnes served as executive vice president of business operations for the NHL's Phoenix Coyotes. In Phoenix, Byrnes led several initiatives to stimulate growth in ticket sales, ticket revenue, suite leases and corporate partnerships. He was also the catalyst for re-branding the organization with a new corporate identity and team uniforms.
The new branding campaign coincided with Byrnes' key objective of transitioning the organization and arena management group into a new arena in Glendale, Arizona. Throughout construction, he was responsible for brand integration, sight lines, premium and regular seating environments, luxury suite design and hospitality venues ensuring that every detail added to the warmth of the Coyotes' home ice. Byrnes' strong leadership skills were an asset to the Coyotes organization and quickly earned him the respect of employees, media and community leaders.
Prior to joining the Coyotes, Byrnes built nearly 10 years of experience with the NHL's Dallas Stars and MLB's Texas Rangers. As an original employee of the Stars' front office in 1993, he was instrumental in the Stars' ascension from a start-up franchise to being recognized as 'best in class' by the end of the decade. With Byrnes' guidance, the Stars led the league in ticket revenue by the 2001-02 season with 15,000 season ticket holders, a waiting list of more than 5,000 people and a record sellout streak of 194 consecutive games.
In 1999, Southwest Sports Group was formed to manage the combined sales and marketing operations of the Stars, Rangers, Mesquite Championship Rodeo and Frisco RoughRiders minor-league baseball team. Byrnes efficiently managed the fully integrated programs to leverage each franchise and maximize sales platforms. In 2001, Byrnes led a successful campaign to transition the Stars into a new venue, American Airlines Center, which led to his recruitment in Phoenix.
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Scott Loft | Vice President of Ticket Sales, Retention and Data Base Operations
Scott Loft, vice president of Ticket Sales, Retention and Database Operations for the Thunder, is an industry veteran with more than 20 years of professional sports leadership experience in the National Football League, National Hockey League and National Basketball Association.
Loft joined the Thunder in 2010 after three seasons with the Miami Dolphins and is responsible for the Thunder's overall strategy and tactics for all ticket sales, retention and database operations including season ticket sales, group ticket sales, executive suites and Club Level memberships.
Loft's sports career started with the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers, where he spent nine seasons, culminating as the director of ticket sales. After his stint with the NBA, Loft became one of the first employees with the NHL's expansion Nashville Predators, where his ticket sales team became the first NHL or NBA franchise to qualify for expansion by selling more than 12,000 season tickets before the NHL franchise was awarded to the city of Nashville.
After five seasons in the NHL, Loft joined the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars as executive director of ticket sales and marketing. Loft was chosen to be the Jaguars' sole attendee at the inaugural NFL Management Program at Stanford during the 2003 season, and his five years in Jacksonville were highlighted by the local oversight of the ticketing functions for Super Bowl XXXIX, which was played in Jacksonville in 2005. Loft then continued his NFL career with the Miami Dolphins, where he stayed until he joined the Thunder.
Prior to his career in sports, Loft received his undergraduate degree from Ball State University in Muncie, Ind., and his master's degree from Temple University in Philadelphia.
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Dan Mahoney | Vice President, Communications and Community Relations
Dan Mahoney joined the Oklahoma City Thunder as vice president of Corporate
Communications and Community Relations in August 2008. In that role he oversees
the Thunder's business public relations efforts, website (THUNDER.NBA.COM), broadcasting operation and community
relations outreach.
From 1995-2003 he was director of communications for Gov. Frank Keating of Oklahoma. He later worked with Gov. Keating as senior vice president of communications and public affairs at the American Council of Life Insurers in Washington, D.C.
Consulting with the Gooden Group of Edmond, Okla., Mahoney coordinated public relations efforts for the Skirvin Hilton Hotel, a historic Oklahoma City landmark which reopened in 2007 after being closed for 18 years. He also assisted the Hornets during their relocation and two-year stay in Oklahoma City from 2005-07.
As director of communications for Gov. Keating, Mahoney was responsible for public information coordination for the State of Oklahoma and the governor's office. That included the public information efforts during the 1995 bombing of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. Following that tragedy, he consulted businesses and other government agencies on crisis communications.
Mahoney spent 18 years in radio and television as a news director, news reporter and sportscaster in Richmond, Va.; Albuquerque, N.M.; and Oklahoma City. He is a native of Philadelphia and attended Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of New Mexico.
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Katy Semtner | Vice President, Human Resources
Katy Semtner is beginning her eighth season with the Oklahoma City
Franchise. She serves as the team's vice president of Human Resources. Semtner's
responsibilities include oversight of payroll, benefits, employee relations, recruiting and
selection and performance management. Semtner has over nine years of experience in human resources in the hospitality and entertainment industry. She is a member of the Society for Human Resources Management, the Oklahoma City Human Resources Society, the NBA HR Round Table and the Bricktown Rotary Club.
She has held her PHR certification since 2003. The Seattle native is a graduate of the University of California at San Diego where she was a member of the varsity crew team.
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Pete Winemiller | Senior Vice President, Guest Relations
Pete Winemiller begins his 15th NBA season with the Oklahoma City franchise as the senior vice president of Guest Relations. He began in 1995 as the Director of Ticket Sales, but has since taken on the role of managing the organization's Guest Relations department and hospitality initiatives. In addition, Winemiller has established a training division for the organization. The focus of his training effort is educating Thunder frontline staff and business alliance partners on the concept he developed entitled "CLICK!™ with your Guests."
Winemiller has consulted with several NBA and WNBA teams, other professional sports leagues and with organizations outside of pro sports regarding their customer service models. He has been a keynote speaker at numerous national events, including the Society of Consumer Affairs Professionals, the North American Conference on Customer Management, the Customer Care Institute and the Conference on Achieving Customer Service Excellence. Winemiller has been an invited guest at Arizona State University, University of Oregon and the University of Washington, sharing his business perspective with undergraduate students, graduate students and business executives.
As the author of many articles on customer service, Winemiller has been quoted in several national publications including FORTUNE Magazine, 1 to 1 Magazine, Sales and Service Excellence Magazine and Customer Service Advantage. Winemiller has been recognized by 1 to 1 Magazine as one of a select few executives in North America to be honored as a "Customer Champion."
Previous to his work at the Thunder, Winemiller spent 15 years in the sports and entertainment industry. He has held sales and marketing executive positions with Seattle's Paramount Theatre, Seattle's SEAFAIR Festival, Portland's Rose Festival Association, Pro-Tec Sport Helmets, Bob Walsh and Associates and the Seattle Goodwill Games.
Winemiller is a graduate of Washington State University and an alumnus of the Disney Institute in Orlando, FL. He serves on the 1 to 1 Magazine Editorial Advisory Board, the Customer Service Advantage Advisory Panel and the University of Washington Intercollegiate Athletic Advisory Board.
