Danette Leighton is a 30-year sports industry and corporate executive with experience serving both men’s and women’s professional and collegiate sports leagues and teams. Since March of 2022, Leighton has led the Women’s Sports Foundation (WSF) as CEO, joining the 51-year-old organization, founded by Billie Jean King in 1974.
Leighton was most recently chief marketing officer at the Pac-12 Conference. Prior to her nearly 12 years with the Pac-12, Leighton was with Maloof Sports & Entertainment’s NBA Sacramento Kings as vice president of marketing and brand development, as well as vice president of business operations for the WNBA Monarchs, where she led the business of the World Championship-winning WNBA franchise. She also previously worked for Sony and managed their sponsorship of the PGA Tour’s Sony Open in Hawaii and was Stanford University’s executive director of the 1999 NCAA Women’s Final Four.
A graduate of the University of Arizona, she was named a Game Changer by Sports Business Journal and recognized for her innovation and excellence by Media Inc. She currently serves as a member of Women Leaders in College Sports Board of Directors.
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