Roman Reigns, Bray Wyatt, Buddy Ruffin, JR & WWE Fans Rejoice – WWE Names Blake Bilstad General Counsel

(NYSE: WWE) announced the appointment of Blake Bilstad as Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary. Bilstad will be a key member of WWE’s senior leadership team and report directly to WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon.

As General Counsel, Bilstad will be responsible for overseeing the legal and business affairs of the company and serving as the principal legal advisor to the Chairman, Chief Strategy & Financial Officer, and management team. He will also serve as Corporate Secretary to WWE’s Board of Directors.

Bilstad brings nearly 20 years of experience as General Counsel in digital media, internet, e-commerce and emerging technology companies. Prior to joining WWE, Bilstad was General Counsel and Senior Vice President, Legal & Public Affairs at Provide Commerce, where he spent more than 10 years overseeing all legal matters and public affairs for the e-commerce group that owns ProFlowers, RedEnvelope, Shari’s Berries, Sincerely, Personal Creations and Gifts.com.

Prior to his tenure with Provide Commerce, Bilstad was the Senior Vice President, Legal Affairs at Vivendi Universal Net USA, the parent company that owned MP3.com, MP4.com, EMusic.com, GetMusic.com, RollingStone.com, the Flipside Network and Education.com. During his time at Vivendi Universal, and in his prior role at MP3.com, Bilstad oversaw all corporate legal matters, ushering MP3.com through a high-profile initial public offering and closing more than a dozen mergers and acquisitions transactions, including the sale of MP3.com to Vivendi and then ultimately to CNET. He also served as the responsible Privacy Officer, Corporate Compliance Officer and Secretary for each VUNet USA entity and their subsidiaries, totaling 38 companies and four operating divisions at the group’s peak.

Bilstad began his career as a business associate at the law firm Cooley Godward LLP, where he represented emerging technology and life sciences companies, venture funds and investment banks. He also clerked at the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division.

He earned his Juris Doctor cum laude from Harvard Law School, and his Bachelor of Arts degree in History magna cum laude from Duke University.