Mark Tatum
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Mark A. Tatum (born October 22, 1969) is an American sports and business executive who is currently serving as the Deputy Commissioner of the
National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...
(NBA) under Adam Silver. Additionally, Tatum also currently holds the position of the NBA's chief operating officer. For his work in these capacities, ''
Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...
'' ranked him at No. 8 on its list of "Most Influential Minorities in Sports". He is of Vietnamese and Jamaican descent.


Early life

Mark Tatum was born in Vung Tau, Vietnam, to Kim and Charlie Tatum on October 22, 1969. When Tatum was young, he and his family moved to the United States, where he lived in the East Flatbush neighborhood of
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
. In 1987, Tatum graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School, where he led the Brooklyn Tech baseball team to the New York City public school championship at
Yankee Stadium Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx in New York City. It is the home field of Major League Baseball’s New York Yankees and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. The stadium opened in April 2009, replacing the Yankee S ...
in 1984.


Career

Tatum attended
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
, where he played collegiate
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
for the Big Red, was a member of the Quill and Dagger society, and was initiated into the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. He graduated in 1991 and earned a bachelor's degree in business management and marketing. He also graduated from
Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...
in 1998. Prior to joining the NBA, Tatum worked as a marketing executive and sales manager for companies such as
PepsiCo PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational corporation, multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase, New York, Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the f ...
,
Procter & Gamble The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. It was founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/con ...
, and the Clorox Company. His first work as a sports executive came as a member of
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
's Corporate Sponsorship and Marketing department. He made the move over to the NBA in 1999. Prior to becoming Deputy Commissioner, he worked as the league's Executive Vice President of Global Marketing Partnerships, where he managed the Business Development and Media groups. In this role, he collaborated with sports marketing executives from
the Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational corporation founded in 1892. It manufactures, sells and markets soft drinks including Coca-Cola, other non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups, and alcoholic beverages. Its stock is lis ...
,
Anheuser-Busch InBev Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, known as AB InBev, is an American-Belgian Multinational corporation, multinational Drink industry, drink and brewing company, brewing company based in Leuven, Belgium. It is the largest brewer in the world, and in 20 ...
,
Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...
, and Nike, among others, being in charge of NBA-themed promotions and advertising. He also negotiated many of the NBA's television deals with many networks (including ABC/
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
and TNT). On February 1, 2014, Tatum was unanimously appointed Deputy Commissioner and chief operating officer by the NBA Board of Governors. Since then, he has continued his work in promoting and advertising the NBA, both domestically and internationally. As head of the league's business operations, he currently oversees the
NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...
, as well as global partnerships, marketing, and communications. He has been praised for his key role in the NBA's recent success abroad, particularly in China. As Adam Silver's deputy commissioner, Tatum also holds the duty of announcing second-round picks in the annual NBA draft, as well as hosting the NBA draft lottery. He is also the league's representative in the FIBA Central Board. At the conclusion of the 2022 NBA Finals, he presented the Bill Russell MVP Trophy to
Stephen Curry Wardell Stephen Curry II ( ; born March 14, 1988) is an American professional basketball player and point guard for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "Chef Curry", he is widely regarded as the ...
, and the Larry O'Brien Trophy to the championship team, the Golden State Warriors as Commissioner Silver was unable to do so as a result of being in COVID protocol.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tatum, Mark NBA executives American sports executives and administrators Living people Cornell Big Red baseball players Harvard Business School alumni Women's National Basketball Association commissioners 1969 births People from Bà Rịa-Vũng Tàu province American people of Vietnamese descent American people of Jamaican descent