Churchill Downs and Catena welcome vice presidents

Sam Ullrich joins Churchill Downs as the new vice president of investor relations, while Jasleen Kals takes on the role of vice president of product at Catena Media.

Ullrich is a new member of the CDI team who has worked for Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) for the past nine years. This included senior positions such as director of financial planning and restaurant economics. He also served as interim CFO

Previously, Ullrich was a senior external reporting analyst at Yum! Brands, the parent company of KFC. Additionally, for a period he held the position of senior audit associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers

In his new position at CDI, Ullrich will report directly to Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Marcia Dall.

Catena welcomes former TMZ executive

Catena said the appointment of Kalsa represents a step forward in its transition to a product-centric operating model.

Kals previously worked at US media brand TMZ. Here she spent over a year as executive director of digital product development and strategy.

Previously, Kals was director of product manager at CafeMedia and head of product at MarketMuse. Her other professional roles include Senior Product Manager at Searchmetrics and Website Product Manager at QuinStreet.

Catena Media interim CEO Pierre Cadena welcomes the new appointment, praising Kalsa’s experience in creating and building products.

“Her expertise, leadership and drive will be critical as we implement our new product-centric operating model across the organization,” Cadena said.

“In this model, we will prioritize developing our most effective products and delivering the highest quality user experiences as we position the company for sustainable, long-term growth. Jasleen will lead the evolution and growth of Catena Media’s portfolio of unique assets and brands so that we can unlock their full potential.

Cadena is leading Catena Media on an interim basis after Michael Daly resigned as CEO in February.