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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — For the past decade, Brandon Schneider watched every leader among the Golden State Warriors to see how they all operated. From the small organizational staff meetings to the big decisions, he soaked in everything he could.
The Warriors promoted the 41-year-old Schneider to president and chief operating officer on Tuesday to replace Rick Welts, a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member who is moving to an advisory role after the season. Schneider will assume his new position July 1.
Schneider has nearly two decades of experience with the franchise and worked closely with Welts for 10 years. That included the construction project of Chase Center in San Francisco and the move from Oakland. Schneider has been Golden State’s chief revenue officer for the past three years, overseeing strategic planning and execution of team sales and activation efforts at the new arena — including ticket sales and service efforts, corporate partnerships, marketing and digital strategy, and philanthropic efforts through the team’s foundation.
“In Brandon, we have someone who first of all is a leader. Whenever you have an organization, leadership is No. 1 obviously,” owner and CEO Joe Lacob said. “But you have to have other things. You have to have intelligence, and Brandon is very intelligent. He is collaborative, he’s well respected, he’s well connected in the industry. He’s a team-oriented guy and a builder.
“… The thing I love most about Brandon, he is relentless.”
Even with all Welts accomplished during his tenure, Schneider said he is committed to thinking outside the box to get more done that Welts helped begin by establishing a successful culture throughout the operation.
Schneider grew up in the Bay Area loving the Warriors, attending his first game in 1987 with his father. He expressed his gratitude to Welts for serving as a mentor and friend to help prepare him for his new challenge.
“As a Bay Area kid who grew up a diehard Warriors fan, it means a ton,” he said. “This is the first job I got out of college.”
He joined the Warriors in 2002 — one day before his 23rd birthday, “so I’ve really grown up with the Warriors” — as a season ticket account executive then worked his way up through the ticket department before spending 2015-2018 as senior vice president of business development before taking on his current position.
Lacob and co-executive chairman Peter Guber believe Schneider is the best person to push the franchise forward given this is just the beginning of a new-look franchise in San Francisco.
“For them to put their faith in me is humbling and is a great honor,” Schneider said. “It also means that I have the opportunity to lead an outstanding group and team of coworkers. If there’s one thing that I’ve learned, and I’ve learned a lot from Joe, Peter and Rick over the last 10 years, surround yourself with great people and let them do their job.”
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