By SVG Staff                                   

John Nicastro has been named as chief technology officer of Major League Soccer, making him the league’s first CTO. In his new position, Nicastro reports to president and chief administration/strategy officer JoAnn Neale and oversees a consolidated technology department of 40-50 full-time employees.

As Chief Technology Officer for Major League Soccer and Soccer United Marketing, John Nicastro will oversees the League’s overall technology, data and AI strategy, including sport and fan technology, business solutions, information technology & security, and owned digital platforms.

Prior to MLS, Nicastro served as Head of the Enterprise Data Office at SiriusXM and Pandora, where he led the teams powering AI and advanced data technology services for 150+ million audio listeners. He has also held senior leadership positions at CA Technologies (now Broadcom Inc.) and Cablevision Systems.

During a career spanning more than twenty years, Nicastro has received multiple patents for innovations in data, artificial intelligence, and network engineering, and was recognized for his contributions as a recipient of the CIO 100 and the Analytics 50. He is an acting Governing Member of the New York Chief Data Officer board and IBM’s Media & Entertainment Leaders Exchange. He enjoys speaking and participating in the AI space and has been involved in academia as a guest lecturer and panelist, most recently at NYU’s first Executive AI Masterclass.

A graduate of New York Institute of Technology, Nicastro earned his MBA at Colorado State University, and studied at MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. He resides in New York with his wife and two sons.