THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: Fanatics Hires New Betting Unit CMO From Gucci

Sports-merchandising company Fanatics has found the new chief marketing officer of its betting and gaming division in a surprising place: Gucci. 

Selena Kalvaria is joining Fanatics after a three-year stint with Kering’s luxury label, where she was most recently senior vice president of brand and client engagement for its Americas business. She fills a role left vacant at Fanatics in 2023 by Jason White, who left after a year in the post and is now president of advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy’s Portland office. 

Fanatics, a fledgling entrant in a sports-gambling industry dominated by historic casino names and boisterous newer brands, wants to be known as the betting app for true sports fans. That includes women, a group largely overlooked in the industry’s advertising so far, Kalvaria said…