Ray J. Artigue was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona and except for a two-year stint in Chicago, has lived in the Valley of the Sun all of his life. He is presently Senior Vice President of Marketing for the Phoenix Suns basketball team, where he directs all sales and marketing efforts on behalf of that NBA franchise.

Prior to joining the Phoenix Suns in 1991, Artigue owned and operated Evans/Artigue Public Relations, a full service public relations firm he founded in 1987. This “Top 5” firm was recognized by the local chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (P.R.S.A.) for their award-winning work for such clients as VISA International, Citibank (Citicorp), The Pointe Resorts and the Phoenix Suns.

Artigue is an accredited member of P.R.S.A. as well as a member of its prestigious Counselors Academy. He is a 1991 recipient of P.R.S.A.’s PERCY Award, nominated and given by professional peers to that practitioner who demonstrates excellence in their professional, personal and civic endeavors.

Artigue is a 1976 graduate of Arizona State University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. In 1994, Ray received the Hall of Fame Award from the ASU College of Public Programs and in 1997, he received the Hall of Fame Award from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

He has taught numerous public relations classes in the Cronkite School and a Sports Business course in the MBA program at Arizona State University and has co-authored a college textbook, Public Relations Campaigns and Tactics. He is recognized in the 1983 edition of Outstanding Young Men in America and the 1990 edition of Who’s Who in Public Relations. The Phoenix Advertising Club named him “Ad Person of the Year” in 1994 and he is a frequent lecturer on the topics of advertising, brand management and research.

Ray is a member of numerous civic and community organizations and serves or has served on the boards of the Maricopa County Sports Commission, Walter Cronkite Endowment Board, Banner Health Foundation Board of Governors, Phoenix Suns Charities, The Salvation Army, Home Base Youth Services, Arizona Diamondbacks Charities, YWCA Advisory Board, A.C. Green Foundation, Phoenix Museum of History and the Thunderbirds. In 1999, Artigue served as General Chairman of the PGA TOUR Phoenix Open and Big Chief (President) of that civic organization in the following year.

Ray resides with his wife, Martha, and their two children, Jessica and Joseph, in Scottsdale, Arizona. His hobbies include jogging, writing poetry and building birdhouses. A collection of his poetry and personal meditations, entitled Longings of the Heart, was published by Stony Brook Press in 2002.