Former NBA Executive Acunto Appointed To Start Sports Betting Division

FINN Partners, founded by Peter Finn in 2011, is a global marketing company with offices all over the world. Some of those locations are in New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Detroit, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Jerusalem, and London.

John Acunto formerly worked for the NBA as a communication executive and is now joining the Finn team. Acunto has been hired to increase the company’s sports division, which will concentrate on the lucrative sports betting market, professional sports teams, and eSports.

Acunto joined Finn Partners on April 27 and will be based out of the main headquarters in the New York City office. Missy Farren is one of the managing partners of FINN Partners, and Acunto will work directly with Farren.

Shortly before joining the FINN Partners, Acunto spent 20 years with the NBA as the director of business and international business. Acunto was responsible for orchestrating partnerships between the NBA and Facebook, Nike, Gatorade, Walt Disney Company, and Verizon Wireless.

He also cultivated the league’s sports betting division and garnered high praise from officials at the NBA.

Acunto Responsible For Developing NBA’s Social Media Presence

A source close to the new Acunto-FINN Partners alliance said FINN had been courting Acunto for the last year. According to the source, “They made him an offer that he couldn’t resist, and after 20 years with the NBA, he was ready for a change.”

Acunto has the experience of generating sports betting partnerships that the FINN Partners is now seeking. The source revealed that the company wants to branch into sports betting, and they felt they needed the expertise of someone like Acunto, with a proven track record, in order to succeed.

Acunto brokered the deal between the NBA and MGM in a historic deal between a sports league and a sportsbook.

Acunto released a statement on Thursday, saying, “I am elated to join FINN and bring my expertise in communication and passion for sports to their incredibly talented team. For nearly 20 years, I had the opportunity to learn from great leaders at the NBA, and now I’m looking forward to collaborating with my new colleagues to grow our sports division and deliver best in class service to our partners.”

FINN Delighted To Acunto To Its Sports Team

A Senior Partner of FINN Partners, Caroline Andrew, said in a statement, “I am excited to bring John back to our group where he will join Missy Farren and our exceptional team of communicators and athletes spanning surf to snow and court to turf. Since 2002 our team has managed campaigns for every Olympics, the Dew Tour, International Olympics Cup, Billabong, Quicksilver, Roxy, Shaun White, Disney’s Swim.

“We have represented sports stars, Michael Phelps and very recently, Jamaica’s Girlz World Cup Campaign To France.”

Acunto, according to a source, didn’t want to be located out of any city other than New York. That was one of the issues that prolonged the negotiation phase.

FINN Partners wanted Acunto to be located in the Los Angeles office. Acunto, his wife, and two children live a short commute from New York in Glen Rock, NJ.

Acunto was an all-star athlete during his college years at Saint Michael’s College. He played Division III Hockey all four years and received his BA in English from the college.

He has also competed in professional surfboard competitions and tried out for the Olympic snowboarding team. FINN Partners employs almost 1,000 employees at their locations around the world.