Steve Koonin will become the new Hawks CEO, per Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The team has confirmed the news on its website. NBA owners have approved Koonin for the position. Atlanta sold a minority share of the team in March, which increased the team’s stakeholders to 12. Bruce Levenson will remain the primary owner for the team.
Koonin, who had been serving as president of Turner Entertainment Networks, will own a minority share of the team, as The Associated Press details. He’s spent the past 14 years at Turner, and was previously a marketing executive for Coca-Cola for more than a decade.
Koonin will oversee all business operations for the Hawks, according to the AP. It’s not clear whether he’ll have any say over the team’s basketball side, but it seems as though GM Danny Ferry will maintain autonomy over that department.
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.