Licensed sports apparel and gear web retailer Fanatics Inc. has hired David Katz, Groupon Inc.’s vice president and general manager of consumer mobile, as its senior vice presidenti and general manager, mobile, according to a Fanatics spokesman.

In that role he will oversee a new San Francisco area-based development center tasked with building mobile apps and sites, according to a memo Katz distributed to colleagues. He will leave Groupon at the end of the month.

“I’m going to be building a new team–which is part of the appeal–so if you know great mobile developers,

, designers or marketers who love sports and m-commerce please send them my way,” he wrote in the memo.

Groupon, No. 65 in the 2013 Top 500 Guide, says that it is searching for Katz’s replacement. In the interim, Groupon’s consumer-focused mobile team will report to Jeff Holden, senior vice president of product development, who oversees both consumer and merchant mobile divisions.

Katz had been in his current role at Groupon since July 2012 and had worked at the retailer since April 2011. He previously held a number of mobile-focused positions at Yahoo Inc. from 2005 to 2011, most recently vice president, mobile, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Fanatics, No. 43 in the 2013 Top 500 Guide, had $764 million in online sales last year. Fanatics, which operates e-commerce sites for professional leagues and teams, is owned and operated by Kynetic LLC.

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