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ESPN today announced the promotions of Kaitee Daley and Flora Kelly to Vice President roles. Daley will continue to oversee ESPN’s industry-leading Social Media team, which in 2020 became the No. 1 sports media publisher for engagement with 4.2 billion total actions across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (up +64% YOY). Kelly will lead the new Brand Strategy & Content Insights team, responsible for ESPN’s market, fan and media insights that help strengthen and grow the business. Key areas of focus for Kelly and her team will include the ESPN Brand, content development, sports trends, fandom, and audience expansion.

“Kaitee’s leadership has set the gold standard for social media at ESPN and across the industry,” said Laura Gentile, SVP of Marketing and Social Media, ESPN. “She was an early believer in the power of social to drive consumption and audience connection. Through her vision, tenacity and leadership, she has built social media at ESPN into a powerful and innovative platform that enables ESPN and our Brand to resonate more deeply with fans.”

Added Gentile: “For years, Flora has served as a valuable advisor for senior leaders and teams across all divisions of ESPN. In today’s disrupted and high intensity media world, leveraging insights is increasingly important to our success. With Flora’s leadership, we have a deep and rich understanding of sports fans, and in this new role, she will continue to develop key brand strategies and mine such insights. Flora has the unique ability and intelligence to guide how we best serve fans and create high quality content moving forward.”

Daley has been entrenched in ESPN’s social media efforts for nearly a decade, and played a key role in establishing a formalized strategy and centralized team for social media. She led SportsCenter social’s early expansion and on-air integrations, helped pioneer ESPN’s approach to social revenue, and has helmed the launch of numerous social brands, shows, and internal programs all with an eye for increasing ESPN’s reach and relevance across emerging platforms. Daley is the recipient of several industry honors including Cynopsis Top Women in Sports (2019) and Folio Top Women in Media (2020). She began her career with ESPN in 2009 after graduating magna cum laude from Bowdoin College where she was a varsity basketball and softball player.

Kelly’s extensive research expertise dates back to when she joined ESPN in 2011. Over the years, she has delivered valuable insights for key priorities such as ESPN’s reimagined Brand Promise, insights that drove the successful launch of ESPN+, and award-winning research that has led to ESPN’s groundbreaking creative and marketing campaigns. This includes a gold, silver, and bronze medal sweep at the ARF David Ogilvy Awards (2020), which honors the best campaigns that exemplify the power of research and insights. She also serves as a highly-followed source for fan and media trends in the sports industry as she powers ESPN’s research Twitter account (@ESPNFlora). Kelly is a graduate of Hofstra University and earned her Master’s degree from Hunter College.

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