WWE has hired Craig Stimmel, most recently head of global brands at Snap, to head sales and partnerships at the wrestling entertainment company.
He replaces Claudine Lilien, who exited WWE earlier this year after serving about a year as SVP, head of global sales and partnerships.
Stimmel will report to WWE chairwoman and co-CEO Stephanie McMahon and WWE co-CEO Nick Khan.
His hiring comes after former CEO and chairman Vince McMahon on July 22 announced he was retiring amid ongoing investigations into allegations that he paid millions of dollars to multiple women to keep quiet about alleged affairs and misconduct. (WWE said it will revise financial statements going back to 2019 to account for $14.6 million of “certain payments” that Vince McMahon made during his tenure as chairman and CEO.) WWE appointed his daughter Stephanie and Khan to take over as co-CEOs.
Stimmel, as WWE’s head of global sales and partnerships, will oversee day-to-day operations and lead its sales organization, the company said in announcing his hire. He is also tasked with expanding WWE’s roster of sponsors and promotional partnerships.
Stimmel spent the last three years as head of global brands at Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, where he created and led the company’s global brand organization. Prior to that, Stimmel served in various leadership positions across consumer packaged goods giant Procter & Gamble, including overseeing partnerships and marketing ideation for the company’s media investment team. Stimmel earned a bachelor of science degree in business-accounting from the University of Dayton.
Lilien, before joining WWE in April 2021, had held senior leadership roles across Fox Corp., Fox Sports and Fox Networks Group. She most recently had served as senior VP of client management and solutions at Fox Sports.
