New York Road Runners (NYRR) announced that Rob Simmelkjaer, a former NBC Sports Ventures and ESPN executive, was hired as chief executive officer. Simmelkjaer will oversee all personnel and operations at the running organization, effective November 15, 2022.
Kerin Hempel will step down as CEO after leading the organization through her second TCS New York City Marathon.
During his nine-year tenure at ESPN, Simmelkjaer worked in various positions, including vice president, International Development, vice president and assistant to the president, and director of NBA programming. In 2011, he was named senior vice president of NBC Sports Ventures, where he led new business development and created and oversaw NBC sports properties. Simmelkjaer has also worked as an on-air contributor for ABC News, ESPN, NBC Sports, NBC News, MSNBC, CNBC, and the Tennis Channel. He anchored MSNBC’s coverage of the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympics. Most recently, Simmelkjaer founded Persona Media, Inc. In 2020, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont appointed Simmelkjaer for a volunteer role as chairman of the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Lottery.
“We are excited for Rob to lead our organization through its next phase of performance, growth and impact. He brings sports leadership experience, a record of driving strategic transformation and a commitment to our mission of helping and inspiring people through running,” said George Hirsch, chair, board of directors, NYRR. “I want to thank Kerin Hempel for her tireless dedication and managerial expertise throughout this critical transition period for NYRR. We simply couldn’t have done it without her.”
