North Charlotte Today

The Charlotte Hornets have announced significant additions to their front office team. Jeff Peterson, the Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations, revealed that Dotun Akinwale has been appointed as Assistant General Manager, Ryan Gisriel as Vice President of Basketball Operations & Strategy, and Patrick Harrel as Vice President of Basketball Insights & Analysis.

Dotun Akinwale brings 11 seasons of NBA experience to the Hornets. He joins from the Atlanta Hawks, where he spent nine years, most recently as Vice President of Player Personnel. His career in the NBA began with the Orlando Magic in 2013 as a basketball operations intern. Akinwale is an alumnus of Thiel College with a degree in business administration.

Ryan Gisriel arrives at the Hornets after an 11-year tenure with the Brooklyn Nets. He was promoted to Executive Director of Basketball & Business Operations before the 2023-24 season. Gisriel's previous roles included Director of Basketball Administration and Assistant to the General Manager. He holds a political science degree from the University of Notre Dame.

Patrick Harrel comes to Charlotte following eight years with the NBA, where he was Senior Director of Basketball Strategy & Analytics. Harrel played a key role in various league initiatives such as schedule optimization and designing the NBA Bubble in 2020. He graduated cum laude from Princeton University with an economics degree and started his career with the Houston Astros.