Sam Ullrich joins Churchill Downs as its new vice president of investor relations, Meanwhile, Jasleen Kals is taking on the role of vice president of product at Catena Media.
Ullrich is a new addition to the CDI team, having worked for Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) for the past nine years. This included spells in senior roles such as director of financial planning and restaurant economics. He also spent time as interim chief financial officer
Prior to this, Ullrich was senior analyst of external reporting at Yum! Brands, parent company of KFC. In addition, he had a spell as assurance senior associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers
In his new role at CDI, Ullrich will be reporting directly to executive vice president and chief financial officer Marcia Dall.
Catena welcomes former TMZ executive
Catena said that Kals’ appointment represents a step forward in its transition to a product-first operating model.
Kals previously worked at US media brand TMZ. Here, she spent over a year as executive director of digital product development and strategy.
Prior to this, Kals was director of product manager at CafeMedia and head of product for MarketMuse. Her other career roles include senior product manager at Searchmetrics and product manager for websites at QuinStreet.
Catena Media interim CEO Pierre Cadena welcomes the new appointment, hailing Kals’ experience in creating and building products.
“Her knowledge, leadership and drive will be central as we embed our new product-focused operating model across the organisation,” Cadena said.
“The model will prioritise the development of our best-performing products and create superior user experiences as we position the business to deliver sustainable long-term growth. Jasleen will lead the evolution and growth of Catena Media’s portfolio of outstanding assets and brands to enable us to unlock their full potential.”
Cadena is leading Catena Media on a temporary basis after Michael Daly resigned as CEO in February.