Steve Koonin

Steve Koonin (born June 6, 1957) is the chief executive officer of the Atlanta Hawks and State Farm Arena. He is the former president of Turner Broadcasting System. Koonin chairs the Georgia Aquarium and is on the boards of TKO Group Holdings, Rubicon Technologies, Fox Theatre, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Emory Healthcare, and the Woodruff Arts Center.

For the theoretical physicist, see Steven E. Koonin.
Steve Koonin
Atlanta Hawks
PositionChief Executive Officer
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (1957-06-06) June 6, 1957
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Career information
CollegeUniversity of Georgia

Early life and education

Koonin was born in 1957 in Atlanta, Georgia. He studied marketing at the University of Georgia. Koonin is of Jewish descent.[1]

Career

Coca Cola Company

Koonin spent more than a decade at The Coca Cola Company.[2][3] While serving as Coca Cola's VP of sports and entertainment marketing, Koonin was honored as the SportsBusiness Journal Sports Executive of the Year.

Turner Broadcasting System

He worked at Turner Broadcasting System for over 14 years, and served as the organization's president.[4]

Atlanta Hawks

In April 2014, the Atlanta Hawks hired Koonin as CEO of the Atlanta Hawks & State Farm Arena.[5]

By the end of 2015, the Hawks organization built 25 community basketball courts over five years in disadvantaged communities across the city of Atlanta.[6][7] During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Atlanta Hawks leveraged partnerships with Emory Healthcare to provide thousands of meals weekly for workers on the front lines.[8][9][10][11][12] In June 2020, Atlanta Hawks were the first NBA team to commit their arena for use as a polling site – the largest voting center in the state of Georgia – during the 2020 election.[13][14][15][16][17][18]

Boards and accolades

Koonin serves as the chairman for the Georgia Aquarium. He is on the boards of TKO Group Holdings, Rubicon Technologies, Fox Theatre, Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Emory Healthcare, and the Woodruff Arts Center.[19][20] Koonin was a former member of the board of GameStop, resigning in 2020.[21]

Koonin has been listed on Atlanta Magazine’s 55 Most Powerful People shaping Atlanta, Atlanta Business Chronicle's 100 Most Influential Atlantans, and Georgia Trend's 100 Most Influential Georgians.[22][23][24] Atlanta Sports Council awarded Koonin a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2020.[25][26][27]

Personal life

Koonin is married to Eydie Koonin, an Atlanta-based real estate agent. They have two children: David Koonin, a sports media agent with Creative Artists Agency,[28] and Amy Beth Koonin Taylor.[29] In 2013, Steve and his wife Eydie created the Koonin Scholars Fund at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication which provides scholarships for students.[30]

See also

References
  1. Arnovitz, Kevin (January 8, 2015). "Reselling the Hawks to Atlanta". ESPN. "In the '80s, when all the Jews used to inhabit the Omni, there was a social component to going to the game," Koonin, who is Jewish, said. "It was your social life. It looked like synagogue on the High Holidays.
  2. "Koonin-Bio-2016-17" (PDF). Retrieved 2021-07-08.
  3. Dempsey, John (May 17, 2008). "Steve Koonin trades Coke for Turner".
  4. "Atlanta Hawks CEO Steve Koonin to join WWE Board of Directors". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  5. "Hawks Staff Steve Koonin Bio". Atlanta Hawks.
  6. "Courting Atlanta: Hawks rehab basketball courts to teach kids teamwork". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  7. Cochran, Noreen (15 June 2018). "College Park to open new b-ball courts with Hawks". MDJOnline.com.
  8. "Hawks' CEO Steve Koonin on 'Business Unusual,' Coronavirus Response". Front Office Sports. 2020-04-01. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  9. Ladner, Ben (27 March 2020). "Atlanta Hawks & State Farm Help Provide Meals for Emory Healthcare Workers". Sports Illustrated Atlanta Hawks News, Analysis and More. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  10. "How the Atlanta Hawks are leveraging partnerships to provide COVID-19 relief". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  11. Journal-Constitution, Sarah K. Spencer-The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionLigaya Figueras- The Atlanta. "Hawks fund program to feed Emory health care workers treating COVID-19 patients". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  12. "Atlanta Hawks supports Emory Healthcare COVID-19 caregivers with meal program". news.emory.edu. 2020-03-27. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  13. Beer, Jeff (November 6, 2020). "Atlanta Hawks CEO Steve Koonin on how COVID-19 is changing basketball". Fast Company.
  14. Spencer, Sarah K.; Journal-Constitution, The Atlanta. "Hawks' State Farm Arena to become Georgia's largest voting precinct". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  15. Wolken, Dan. "Could Atlanta Hawks' State Farm Arena swing the presidential race?". USA Today.
  16. Shapiro, Michael (29 June 2020). "Hawks to Use Arena as Polling Station For 2020 Elections". Sports Illustrated.
  17. "Atlanta Hawks Arena To Host Voting Site, Team Challenges Rest Of NBA To Follow". NPR.org.
  18. "'Election central': Hawks CEO Steve Koonin on how team plans to transform arena into voting site". www.nba.com.
  19. "Atlanta Hawks CEO Steve Koonin to join WWE Board of Directors". April 14, 2021.
  20. "Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce COUNCIL LEADERS". April 18, 2021.
  21. "GameStop shakes up its board". Dallas News. 2020-03-09. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  22. "Unlocked: Meet Atlanta Business Chronicle's 2018 Power 100". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  23. "100 Most Influential Georgians of 2019: Propelling Positive Change". Georgia Trend Magazine. 2018-12-31. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  24. "Atlanta's 55 Most Powerful". Atlanta Magazine. October 2015. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
  25. "Atlanta Sports Council to honor Hawks CEO Steve Koonin with 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award". 12news.com.
  26. Tucker, Tim. "Atlanta Sports Council to honor Hawks' Koonin for 'lifetime achievement'". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
  27. "Atlanta Hawks' Steve Koonin to receive Atlanta Sports Council's Lifetime Achievement Award". Gwinnett Daily Post. 27 July 2020.
  28. Biscan, Ashley (January 21, 2020). "Atlanta Hawks CEO Celebrated His Son's Wedding Day With The Home Team".
  29. "Wedding Announcement: Koonin-Taylor". Atlanta Jewish Times. January 24, 2020.
  30. Middleton, Parker (2013-04-15). "Turner Entertainment President creates Koonin Scholars Fund at UGA's Grady College". UGA Today. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
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