LIV Golf confirms first big signing ahead of 2024 season -Sportlite Era

LIV GOLF REVEALS NEW CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AHEAD OF 2024 SEASON
LIV Golf names Lawrence J. Burian as its new Chief Operating Officer.

LIV Golf has confirmed Lawrence J. Burian has been named Chief Operating Officer (COO) after a competitive international recruiting process.

The news was confirmed by LIV Golf just hours after Bryson DeChambeau’s Crushers GC were crowned LIV Golf Team Champions for 2023 in Miami.

LIV Golf’s former COO Atul Khosla walked out of the Saudi-backed circuit ahead of the 2023 season.

Gary Davidson then assumed the role of Acting COO for the remainder of the year.

Mr. Burian will take on the role of the organization’s new COO prior to LIV Golf’s third full season in 2024. He will be in charge of a number of responsibilities, including corporate strategy and development as well as the successful execution of the 14 LIV Golf League events that are scheduled across the world by LIV Golf.

Mr. Burian will be in charge of investor relations, the full integration of the International Series, events, production, information technology, human resources, procurement, and general day-to-day business operations in addition to managing and commercializing the league’s teams.

As a former Executive Vice President with the Madison Square Garden family of public companies, Mr. Burian has extensive experience across the sports, entertainment, media and hospitality sectors. During his more than a decade of simultaneous service to MSG Sports Corporation (NYSE: MSGS), MSG Entertainment Corporation (NYSE: MSGE) and MSG Networks, Inc. (formerly NYSE: MSGN), Mr. Burian worked closely with each company’s Board of Directors and executive management teams to lead significant corporate and strategic transactions and initiatives that strengthened the group’s portfolio of businesses and built long-term shareholder value.

The famed MSG arena and other prestigious entertainment venues, the Radio City Rockettes and Christmas Spectacular, the Tao Group Hospitality family of restaurants and nightlife brands, the Tribeca Film Festival, the Boston Calling music festival, CLG (e-sports), and the New York Knicks (NBA) and New York Rangers (NHL) franchises were just a few of the MSG companies.

Mr. Burian held a number of executive positions across the range of assets, including those of General Counsel, Head of Corporate Development, and Member of the Board of Directors of Several Strategic Joint Ventures.

“Lawrence is a proven leader and a proven winner, and we couldn’t be more excited to have him on our executive leadership team,” said LIV Golf CEO and Commissioner Greg Norman.

“After more than two years of breaking molds and pushing boundaries, LIV Golf is on the precipice of significant growth. Lawrence’s decades of business experience are exactly what we need to keep us competitive and moving forward.”

Prior to working for MSG, Mr. Burian spent ten years at Cablevision Systems Corporation (formerly NYSE: CVC), the former parent company of the MSG businesses in the areas of cable, media, sports, and entertainment. The Madison Square Garden Company’s spin-off, the purchases of the Sundance Channel and the Newsday Media Group, the sales of the Fox Sports New England and Fox Sports Bay Area regional sports networks as well as the Bravo television network were all significant strategic transactions and initiatives in which Mr. Burian was instrumental.

I am excited to join LIV Golf as Chief Operating Officer and look forward to harnessing my more than two decades of senior executive experience to help build on the progress and momentum that is well underway,” said Mr. Burian.
“The creation of a new global sports league in less than two years was nothing short of extraordinary and now is the time to capitalize and build on that success. LIV Golf has a very bright future as we seek to continue growing the game of golf, engaging new audiences, enhancing the guest experience, innovating our event and media production and building franchise value, all while creating a compelling home for our world-class athletes. I’m committed to working with my talented colleagues at LIV Golf towards achieving our ambitious goals.”

Adding Lawrence to the LIV executive team is the clearest indication of the next phase of this league’s growth and future aspirations,” said LIV Golf Acting COO Gary Davidson.

“As we move into the fascinating next stage of the business, Lawrence is a fantastic addition to the Senior Management team and brings a wealth of experience that will be priceless. I’m thrilled to support him and LIV Golf through 2024 and we are thrilled to have him on the team.

Prior to joining Cablevision, Mr. Burian worked as an Associate at Davis Polk & Wardwell, a law firm with offices in New York and London that specialized in mergers and acquisitions.

Mr. Burian graduated summa cum laude from Yeshiva University in New York with a Bachelor of Arts in economics and a Doctor of Jurisprudence from Yale Law School. Mr. Burian is a prominent figure in many non-profit institutions.