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Oct 20, 2017

DISH appoints general counsel from within

R Stanton Dodge leaving company to join DraftKings as chief legal officer

DISH Network has promoted Tim Messner to the role of general counsel. He will take up his new post on Monday and will report to DISH chair and CEO Charlie Ergen.

Messner at present serves as senior vice president and deputy general counsel of DISH, leading a team of more than 20 attorneys responsible for negotiating the company’s commercial transactions. He joined the pay-TV company in November 1996, having previously served as a law clerk to the Hon Jose Marquez of the Colorado Court of Appeals.

Messner will succeed executive vice president R Stanton Dodge, who will join DraftKings as its chief legal officer, effective November 6. Dodge will oversee the legal and government affairs teams and will be based in the fantasy sports company’s Boston headquarters, reporting to CEO and co-founder Jason Robins.

‘Stanton has been an effective and tireless advocate for DISH for more than 20 years, and has served as a valued counselor to me and to our entire management team,’ Ergen says in a statement. ‘Stanton’s leadership and expertise have been critical as we have worked to position DISH for the future.

‘I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with Tim over the years and I’ve been impressed with his legal acumen, his tenacity and his capacity as a leader. I look forward to his work and advice as we continue our efforts to transform DISH into a company focused on wireless connectivity.’

Dodge will remain on the board of directors for DISH’s sister company, EchoStar Corporation.

Ben Maiden

Ben Maiden is the editor-at-large of Governance Intelligence, an IR Media publication, having joined the company in December 2016. He is based in New York. Ben was previously managing editor of Compliance Reporter, covering regulatory and compliance...