NBA names Kate Jhaveri new Chief Marketing Officer

NEW YORK – The National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced that Kate Jhaveri, current CMO of Twitch and a former marketing executive at Twitter, Facebook and Microsoft, has been appointed Chief Marketing Officer of the NBA.  Jhaveri, who begins with the NBA on August 15, will report to NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum.

As NBA Chief Marketing Officer, Jhaveri will be responsible for leading the global marketing operations for the NBA, NBA G League and NBA 2K League, including the development of innovative marketing campaigns and brand messaging across all platforms to connect with fans and grow the game of basketball around the world.  Additionally, she will oversee the consumer insights and analytics departments to enhance the NBA’s consumer data strategy and implement new marketing programs.

At Twitch, Jhaveri established the platform as the leader in live, interactive content.  Establishing Twitch’s brand strategy, Jhaveri led a global team of 90 employees and was responsible for growing, engaging and retaining the brand’s core audiences of more than 15 million daily active viewers and more than three million unique content creators each month.

Prior to Twitch, Jhaveri was Head of Consumer Marketing at Twitter, where she managed all consumer-facing campaigns that drove increased user growth, engagement and brand relevance with consumers worldwide.  Jhaveri also previously served as Head of Brand Marketing at Facebook and spent seven years at Microsoft overseeing the worldwide Marketing Communications team for Windows, Internet Explorer and bing.com.  Earlier in her career, she was Manager of Corporate Strategy at Dell.

“Kate is an industry leader who has an excellent record in creating successful marketing strategies for some of the most renowned companies in the world,” said Tatum.  “We are looking forward to adding Kate to our team and having her lead our marketing efforts to further reach and engage our global fanbase.”

“I am thrilled to join the NBA and bring my experiences in both digital and traditional marketing to develop new and innovative ways to continue the global growth of the league,” said Jhaveri.  “The NBA has an incredibly passionate fanbase, and I look forward to utilizing their perspectives to best drive our strategic direction.”

Jhaveri serves as secretary of the national board for Planned Parenthood Action Fund.  She received her MBA from Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business in 2003 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree from College of the Holy Cross in 1995.  Originally from Baltimore, Jhaveri is married and has two children.   

About the NBA
The NBA is a global sports and media business built around four professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, the NBA G League and the NBA 2K League.  The NBA has established a major international presence with games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 50 languages, and merchandise for sale in more than 100,000 stores in 100 countries on six continents.  NBA rosters at the start of the 2018-19 season featured 108 international players from 42 countries and territories.  NBA Digital’s assets include NBA TV, NBA.com, the NBA App and NBA League Pass.  The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with 1.6 billion likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms.  Through NBA Cares, the league addresses important social issues by working with internationally recognized youth-serving organizations that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes.