A 2001 graduate of West Virginia University’s College of Business and Economics, has been named vice president for partnership marketing and sales for the Harlem Globetrotters.

Brian Cleek, a Saint Albans High School graduate who was a finance major at WVU, will focus on new business development and sales at the team’s New York City office.

He has spent the past eight years in sales and marketing with some of the largest sports and entertainment entities in the world—the past three years with the New York Giants, managing the team’s accounts with Gatorade, Samsung, Motorola, Pepsi and Federal Express, among other high-profile companies.

Cleek began his career as an account coordinator with the National Football League in 2002. He went on to work in sponsorship development with the William Morris Agency and ESPN.

“Brian’s broad experience dealing with properties, brands and agencies will serve as a tremendous asset as he strengthens the efforts of the Harlem Globetrotters to partner with world-class organizations,” Peter LaPointe, the Globetrotters’ senior vice president of partnership marketing and sales said. “His network of industry connections, and ability to create winning partnerships for them, will ensure a successful drive toward helping the organization achieve its future goals.”

The Original Harlem Globetrotters, based in Phoenix are in their 84th consecutive season of touring the world. The Globetrotters have played in 120 countries and territories on six continents, entertaining more than 130 million fans and breaking down barriers between cultures, societies and people from all walks of life.

-WVU-

7/30/10

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CONTACT: Brian Cleek
(212) 969-9576