Sun Devil Athletics has a new Senior Associate Athletics Director.
Ray Anderson, President for University Athletics, recently announced that former United States Navy commanding officer Natesh “Tesh” Rao will assume the position at the end of June.
Rao spent twenty years in the Navy, serving as an officer and aviator, completing more than nine international deployments. In 2012, he became the first Indian American Commander to lead a U.S. Navy Strike Fighter Training Squadron.
Throughout the years, Rao has taken the time to address several collegiate and professional sports teams on handling high-stress environments and overcoming challenges. He partnered with the National Football League (NFL) to implement mentoring events between professional athletes and military members and encourage volunteer efforts.
After finishing his Naval career in 2016, Rao worked for Starbucks on advancing corporate initiatives. He helped expand upon Starbucks’ partnership with ASU by designing and ultimately implementing a global learning platform that will increase educational opportunities for employees across the world.
In his new position, Rao’s responsibilities with Sun Devil Athletics will include global expansion, revenue enhancement, sport oversight of selected Olympic sports, strategic planning, and special projects.