NBA names Yannick Colaco as MD of NBA India

The former COO of Nimbus Sport will manage the NBA office in India and lead business and basketball development

BestMediaInfo Bureau | Mumbai | February 19, 2013

Yannick Colaco

The National Basketball Association (NBA) announced today that Yannick Colaco, former CEO of Nimbus Sport, has been named Managing Director, NBA India. Colaco will manage the NBA's India office, based in Mumbai, and oversee all of the league's business and basketball development in the country. Colaco will report to NBA President, International, Heidi Ueberroth.

“Yannick Colaco has the ideal combination of experience and knowledge of the sports landscape in India necessary to lead our expanding operations in the country,” said Ueberroth. “Basketball is on the rise in India and we are thrilled to have Yannick lead our extremely talented staff as we build towards the future.”

Colaco will be responsible for leading the growth of NBA in India. He will continue to build on the league's efforts to grow participation in basketball in partnership with the Basketball Federation of India (BFI).  Colaco, who played basketball at the national university level in India, will work with the league's media, marketing and merchandising partners to make the NBA more accessible to fans in India.  He will also be responsible for growing further the NBA's social media presence in the country.

“The sports market in India is poised for significant growth and as basketball participation increases further there is a tremendous opportunity for the NBA,” said Colaco. “The league has a strong staff in Mumbai and I look forward to joining their efforts to carry out the NBA's mission to grow basketball in India.”

The NBA's Mumbai office opened in October 2011 and includes Akash Jain, Senior Director, Business Development and Partnerships; Troy Justice, Senior Director, Basketball Operations, and three other employees. NBA headquarters in New York also has a cross-departmental team dedicated to NBA growth in India.

Colaco was named COO of Nimbus Sport in June 2009 after joining the company in August 2002. During his tenure he worked extensively across a wide range of sports properties and drove Nimbus Sport business to record profitability. Prior to Nimbus Sport, he began his career at IMG where he worked on a number of prominent event properties including India's first ATP Tour Event, Asian PGA Tour Events and the Indian Fashion Week.

The NBA is committed to growing basketball in India and has hosted more than 450 events in 10 cities since 2008. The league has marketing partnerships in India with adidas, Coca-Cola, Nike, Reebok and Spalding; has NBA merchandise widely available in 200 adidas locations; and earlier this season announced a new television partnership with Multi Screen's Sony Six channel providing fans in India the most comprehensive NBA programming and game coverage.

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