GLORY Sports International Appoints Jon J. Franklin As Global Chief Executive

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Aug 19, 2014, 12:00 ET

NEW YORK, Aug. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- GLORY Sports International and its board of directors today appointed Jon J. Franklin as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. In this role, Franklin will oversee management of the world's premier kickboxing league, with coverage in over 170 global territories.

Since 2002, Franklin has been President of The Sports and Entertainment Company (Sports-EntCo), a sports and entertainment marketing firm that assisted with production, programming, sponsorship, and logistics for GLORY events in the United States.

"I look forward to working with Jon in this new capacity. He has been a big part of our incredible success thus far and is uniquely suited to lead GLORY into the next phase of development," said Pierre Andurand, GLORY Chairman and Co-Founder. "With Jon at the helm, we are confident that 2015 will be a banner year in the evolution of our brand as a leading combat sports league in the United States and abroad."

Previously, Franklin spent 15 years in senior roles at IMG-Media and has also served as President of Golden Gloves Boxing LLC and AP-X, a division of America Presents Boxing.

"I'm honored to have been a part of GLORY's growth into one of the top fight promotions worldwide, but the work is not done," said Franklin. "I truly believe that we have the best athletes in the world, with production for both live audiences and home viewers that is second to none. As we move into the new year, I can't wait to share GLORY's global vision for kickboxing with our fans."

Andrew Whitaker, who served as CEO previously, will assume an advisory role with GLORY as a consultant for business development.

GLORY also jointly announced with SPIKE TV that they have extended their agreement to provide original kickboxing programming through 2015, with a full fall schedule to be released in the coming weeks.

About GLORY:
Founded in 2012, GLORY is owned and operated by GLORY Sports International (GSI), a professional martial arts organization and television content provider, that maintains offices in New York, London, Amsterdam, Singapore, and Tokyo. GLORY programming is seen in over 170 territories. GLORY kickboxing rules are comprised of a mix of several combat disciplines including Karate, Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do and traditional Boxing. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @GLORY_WS, and visit us online at gloryworldseries.com.

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