The Detroit Pistons have announced Melanie Harris has been named president of business operations, in which she is responsible for leading the organization’s business lines, expanding revenue opportunities, and driving engagement with partners, sponsors, ticketholders and fans.
Harris most recently served as vice president and general manager for Nike Inc.’s Jordan Brand North America unit, where she led a cross-functional team in driving sales, merchandising, marketing, operations, and strategy for the multi-billion-dollar business across the U.S. and Canada.
“Melanie’s deep brand experience will help grow the business and increase focus with Pistons fans,” says Tom Gores, owner of the Detroit Pistons, who personally led the search team for Harris.
“Having spent time with Melanie, she is an experienced leader and innovative executive who will invigorate our business operations and bring a fresh perspective on how we engage our community of fans both locally and nationally.”
Gores has spent the offseason building a leadership group. “During this critical offseason, we have expanded our executive team with top leadership talent on both the basketball and business sides of our organization,” he adds. “Our business-side team has consistently outperformed challenging circumstances, and I’m excited to add Melanie’s capabilities and leadership to the mix.”
Harris will report to Pistons Vice Chairman Arn Tellem, who said: “Melanie shares our core values of hard work and commitment to the community. She’s a collaborative leader who will support our current team while bringing new experiences and ideas for engagement with business partners, ticket holders and fans.”
Harris says she is “excited to work with Mr. Gores and the talented team of professionals at the Detroit Pistons to strive for excellence and build on the great tradition of this franchise.
“Detroit is a fantastic sports town and as the organization grows, there is a great opportunity for building business momentum and engagement,” she adds. “I look forward to advancing the club’s success both on and off the floor.”
Before taking leadership of Jordan Brand in North America, Harris served as Nike’s vice president of strategy and development, and was a member of Nike’s Executive Leadership Team.
She spearheaded Nike’s corporate strategy teams on a global scale. She was responsible for developing enterprise plans aimed at fostering innovation, transformation, and growth. She also guided game-changing partnerships, enhanced market intelligence, and coordinated development for specific opportunities within Nike.
Prior to joining Nike, Harris was a partner at management consulting firm Bain & Co. for nearly 10 years (2010-19) advising multi-national companies on customer experience, digital marketing, transformation, and agile and performance improvement.
Harris is a native of New York, and graduated from Yale University and Harvard Business School.
The club retained executive placement firm Nolan Partners to assist with the search.
