Phoenix Suns announce promotions, restructuring

The Phoenix Suns announced today promotions and an organizational restructure headlined by the appointment of Dan Costello as Chief Revenue Officer. 

Costello, who is in his 12th season with the Suns, previously served as the team’s Chief Commercial Officer and Senior Vice President of Business Innovation.  In this newly created position, Costello will lead all revenue-generating initiatives for the Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury and Legends Entertainment District and oversee the Ticket Sales and Service, Premium Sales and Service and Marketing Partnerships departments.

Additionally, Carlissa Henry has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Marketing Partnerships.  Henry will continue in an expanded role overseeing the day-to-day of the Marketing Partnerships department and leading the sales, activation and operations divisions. 

Matt Wright has assumed the title of Senior Vice President of Media and Content Strategy and will now oversee the Broadcast, Content and Digital groups. 

Brooke Campbell, Vice President of Marketing and Brand Strategy, will now report directly to Suns President and CEO Jason Rowley and continue her leadership of the Marketing, Community Relations, Creative Services and Game Operations departments.   

Kyle Pottinger, who was promoted to Vice President of Ticket Sales and Service in July, will continue his leadership role in overseeing Ticket Sales, Service and Premium initiatives. He will now report into Costello.

Boulders names new executive chef

Kyle Lipetzky has been appointed Executive Chef for the Boulders Resort & Spa. In his new role, he will oversee the resort’s five busy kitchens including the Palo Verde Restaurant, the Grill Kitchen and Bar, the Spotted Donkey Cantina, the Spa Cafe, the Discovery Lounge and in-room dining. He plans to oversee menu development, and the food preparation that respects the integrity of the region by incorporating local Arizona ingredients and freshly foraged produce from the resort’s own Organic Garden.

An 18-year veteran in the culinary arts, Chef Lipetzky joins the Boulders from the Arizona Biltmore Resort where he held the position of Executive Sous Chef for six food and beverage outlets. Previous positions in his culinary portfolio include holding the Chef de Cuisine positions at two Phoenix resorts: the JW Marriott Camelback Inn and the Phoenician Resort. Earlier in his career, he was the Executive Chef at Chase Park Plaza, a 4-diamond hotel in St. Louis, Missouri.

Ryan House hires new individual giving officer

Valley nonprofit, Ryan House, whose mission is to provide world-class care and programs and embrace all children and their families as they navigate life-limiting or end-of-life journeys, announced the addition of Tracy Leonard-Warner as its new individual giving officer.

In this new role, Leonard-Warner will serve as a key member of the Ryan House Development Team, focusing on donor engagement and stewardship. 

Prior to joining Ryan House, Leonard-Warner led an interdisciplinary healthcare team for Hospice of the Valley.

“Along with her warmth, smarts and enthusiasm for our mission, Tracy brings great development experience and knowledge of palliative care, the population we serve and the health care industry,” said Ryan House Executive Director Alyssa Crockett. “We are thrilled to have her as part of our team.”

John Gould joins D/P/S

John W. Gould, AIA has joined Dekker/Perich/Sabatini’s Arizona office and will play an essential role as the Market Leader for the firm’s Senior Living group. With over 30 years of experience, Gould has concentrated his career on the design of environments for aging populations. His work includes master planned Life Plan Communities, independent living, assisted living, memory care, skilled nursing and transitional care facilities that have resulted in award-winning and published projects.

Gould has served as lead designer and design principal for prominent firms in Phoenix and Minneapolis, including Ryan A+E, Inc., KKE Architects and BKV Group, Inc. His recent projects include Clarendale of Chandler Arizona and Cadence Senior Living in Mesa, AZ.

“John has been at the forefront of senior living design as it has rapidly evolved to meet new expectations and the needs of seniors,” said Steven J. Perich, Senior Principal at D/P/S. “We are excited to have him join our team and help us deliver the highest quality communities to our clients and their residents.”

Citi Private Bank adds Chris Klecka in Phoenix

Citi Private Bank announced that Chris Klecka rejoins the firm as an Ultra High Net Worth Private Banker. In this capacity, Mr. Klecka will provide investment strategies for the firm’s Southwestern-based clients. Mr. Klecka will be based in Phoenix and report to Kush Malhotra, Regional Market Manager for Western Region – South, Citi Private Bank. “Phoenix is a strategic growth market for the Western Region. Welcoming Chris to the team demonstrates our commitment to increasing our presence in Arizona and further positions the Private Bank as the provider of choice for wealthy families and business leaders in the Southwest,” said Mr. Malhotra.

Prior to this role, Mr. Klecka served as a Chief Financial Officer for a prominent Family Office. There he led the formulation of investment strategy and oversaw business management for the family’s many entities and real estate holdings. He also played a key role in helping the family advance plans for one of its major mixed use developments. Mr. Klecka previously was a Private Banker for Citi, where he and his partner banker successfully onboarded 20 new clients in two years and developed a new book of business. Prior to this, he was a Private Banker with U.S. Trust based in Phoenix, where he managed a portfolio of 150 high net worth individuals, their families and businesses, with total assets under management exceeding $500 million.