PrizePicks appoints its first-ever chief legal officer
Fantasy sports operator announces major strategic hires as it looks towards expansion
PrizePicks has appointed former legal counsel to two US governors, Jason Barclay, as its first chief legal officer and head of public policy.
Barclay was the legal counsel to the former Illinois state governor Bruce Rauner and the former governor of Indiana Mitchell Elias Daniels Jr.
He joins the fantasy sports operator from Athletico Physical Therapy, where he held the role of chief legal officer and EVP.
Barclay was also the first chairman of the Indiana Athletic Commission and served on the Indiana and Illinois Racing Boards and the Illinois State Board of Education.
As part of his new role, Barclay will serve on the firm’s executive leadership team and oversee all of the business’ government affairs, legal and compliance, and people-related operations.
Alongside the appointment of Barclay, PrizePicks has made a number of strategic hires to lead the company’s legal, compliance, and government affairs-related divisions.
Former director of US federal and state public affairs at Netflix and senior VP of public affairs at 21st Century Fox, William Guidera, joins PrizePicks as senior VP of government affairs.
Adam Packer will also be joining PrizePicks and is currently the general counsel of lottery operator IGT Indiana and was the former general counsel to the Indiana Gaming Commission. Packer joins PrizePicks as the senior VP of legal and compliance.
Lastly, John Pauley joins the team as VP of government affairs. Pauley previously served as government affairs manager at Sportradar and was responsible for building and implementing the firm’s government affairs strategy across 30 North American jurisdictions.
Shane Saum and Ron Heart round out the new hires.
Adam Wexler, PrizePicks co-founder, and CEO, said: “We are extremely fortunate to have this seasoned group of business professionals lead our organization as we strive to become the most respected and consumer-friendly company in skills-based fantasy sports.
“This group of all-stars have spent a majority of their careers fighting for the consumer, a characteristic that is paramount to our success as a brand focused on always putting our members first.”