Having joined the Bulls 27 seasons ago in the middle of the 1986-87 season to lead its Business Operations, Steve Schanwald is one of the longest tenured team executives in the NBA … Steve is involved in all aspects of the Bulls Business Operations, including Ticket Sales, Sponsorship Sales, Game Entertainment, Promotions, Advertising and Broadcasting … during his first full season (1987), the Bulls began a 610-game streak of consecutive sellouts which ended in November of 2000 – the third longest streak in NBA history … the Bulls sold over 12,400,000 tickets during its streak, compared to Portland (10,370,360 tickets over 814 consecutive games), and Boston (9,857,180 tickets over 662 games) … the Bulls have consistently ranked among the league leaders in attendance and sponsorships during his tenure regardless of the team’s won-loss record … the Bulls have received numerous awards for marketing excellence during his tenure in areas such as ticket sales, advertising, game entertainment, and corporate partnerships … Steve is a recipient of a local Emmy Award, as well as fifteen awards for advertising excellence … serves as Senior Vice President-Marketing for the United Center and is responsible for suite, signage, college basketball and club seat activities … played a key role in negotiating stadium-naming rights agreement with United Airlines … instrumental in bringing first-ever Big Ten Conference Basketball Tournament and the Great Eight College Basketball Classic to Chicago … founded and served as President of CharitaBulls, the predecessor to Chicago Bulls Charities, which has raised tens of millions of dollars for a variety of worthy causes … created the NBA’s first Community Relations Department in 1987, dedicated to giving back to the Chicago community … established the Bulls first ever TV and radio networks … oversaw the sale of 216 suites which helped to finance construction of the United Center … oversaw the sale and creation of additional United Center premium seating products as needed, such as The Harris Club and Theater Boxes … established the Bulls first ever Spanish language broadcasts to reach out to Chicago’s growing Hispanic market … placed an emphasis on game entertainment to insure that fans attending Bulls games would have a great time win or lose … also placed a strong emphasis on customer service and name and data generation … in 2008 established the Bulls Digital Marketing Department to market the Bulls brand across web, mobile and social media landscapes … sits on the Chicago Sports Commission Advisory Board … served as a member of the NBA’s Team Marketing Advisory Committee … has spoken internationally on sports marketing and has been a guest lecturer at the University of Chicago Business School, Kellogg Graduate School of Business, the Notre Dame Business School and the American Marketing Association among others … is a native of Bethpage, N.Y. … 1977 University of Maryland graduate … served as Director of Sports Marketing at the U.S. Air Force Academy (1978) … served as Director of Promotions for the “We Are Family” Pittsburgh Pirates (1979-80) … spent six years (1981-86) as Assistant Vice President-Marketing for the Chicago White Sox … in 1983 and 1986, the White Sox received Major League Baseball’s highest award for overall marketing excellence … Steve resides in Chicago.