BOSTON–New England Sports Network (NESN) has appointed David Wisnia president and CEO, effective Oct. 28.
Wisnia will succeed Sean McGrail, who is retiring after 40 years at NESN and president and CEO since 2000. McGrail will continue as senior advisor to NESN’s board.
NESN’s new president and CEO comes to the company with extensive experience at some of the most well-regarded companies in the network business, including Fox Sports, CBS and MGM Studios. He joins NESN from Alvarez & Marsal, a global management consulting firm, where he was a managing director, specializing in media and entertainment operations and strategy. Wisnia will oversee both NESN and SportsNet Pittsburgh.
“NESN has been home for Red Sox and Bruins fans for over 40 years,” said Fenway Sports Group principal owner John Henry. “We are grateful to Sean for guiding NESN’s growth through significant technological changes and positioning it for continued success amid immense industry disruption. With David’s appointment, we have a top-tier media executive with extensive experience, both domestically and globally, at leading companies in the network business. He shares our vision for NESN’s future and will ensure that shifts in the media landscape do not change our core goals: to connect directly to our fans, to provide local businesses with valuable opportunities to associate with our great clubs, and to tell stories about our teams that fans want to hear. We thank Sean for his remarkable leadership and welcome David as we look forward to NESN’s next chapter.”
Wisnia’s appointment follows a nationwide search conducted by NESN’s board of directors and McGrail, led by search firm CAA. He brings a wealth of global experience in the media industry to NESN, having built, scaled and turned around media assets for some of the world’s most prominent companies, NESN said.
Throughout his career, Wisnia has held senior roles at major media organizations, including Fox Sports, CBS Corporation, STAR TV and MGM Studios. As executive vice president at MGM Studios, he led the Global Networks Group, overseeing the operational and growth strategy for MGM’s domestic and international direct-to-consumer and linear networks. His leadership spanned programming, affiliate and advertising sales, partnerships, marketing, traffic, engineering and operations.
“I am honored to join NESN and build on the incredible foundation that Sean has established over the last two decades,” said Wisnia. “NESN has long been a leader in sports broadcasting, and I look forward to working with ownership and the talented team here to drive continued growth and deliver world-class sports coverage to our fans.”
McGrail will continue as senior advisor to NESN’s board.
