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Vice President, Business Development

Client:

North American Sports League

Situation

Dually reporting to the Senior EVP of Business & Media and the SVP of Corporate Sales & Marketing, our client specifically developed this new role to bring in an experienced sales and marketing professional who will be mandated to proactively identify, pursue, and close new corporate partnership opportunities which are outside of their traditional relationships. This role will essentially be the “face of the League” in North America. Sales focus will be direct to clients and through media /agencies.

Historically, the League has not maintained a formal sales culture and are still relatively new at aggressively developing sponsorships. They have generally been comfortable relying on renewals of traditional corporate partnerships for new business development. To date, 60-70% of sponsorship deals have originated from Canada rather than in the US. This role will lead a small team in further developing sponsorship deals throughout North America. The client is looking for this leader to capitalize on whatever quick revenue business opportunities may be out there for the balance of the current year and to focus on planning and building a robust sponsorship development strategy and team for the future. A good idea of the types of opportunities that may be out there is with companies that do not have a deal with the upcoming Olympics and may see the League as a great alternative. There is also good potential for some quick wins regarding revenue development through upsell and cross-sell opportunities with existing partners.

Finding individuals with extensive experience in identifying and developing sponsorship opportunities with corporate America and knowledge of how to align the League’s sponsorship opportunities to the strategies of the targeted companies was the challenge. Also, the ideal candidate would have had to have a track record of successfully negotiating multi-million-dollar sponsorship deals to be considered.

The Candidate was to be a hard-working, energetic, and driven executive with a demonstrable background in selling sports properties. The Candidate will possess a packaging mentality to sales and a solid understanding of television and digital/internet advertising/sales. They will persist in pursuing business development prospects and possess the proven ability to effectively manage, teach, and provide growth opportunities to their employees. The Candidate will be capable of effectively communicating the League’s brand and developing the overall League story to take to the marketplace. Superior presentation skills and communication skills are, therefore, a must. The Candidate must be willing and able to approach new opportunities by cold calling prospective clients and properly relate the League’s story passionately. The Candidate must be persistent and able to successfully navigate challenges as they arise.
The Candidate should possess a minimum of 10 years management-level sales experience in the sports and media marketplace, as well as an understanding of the League’s platforms, associated equity, and the ability to package the League’s multiple assets. Completing post-secondary education is required, and an MBA is considered a plus. Superior computer, time management, organizational, communication, concept development, relationship building & management skills are required, as is the ability to multitask and prioritize. Candidates must have a passion for sports and the ability to make their passion contagious with new business clients.

Consultants from our New York and Toronto offices collaborated on this search. They developed a strategy that involved researching other sports leagues and teams, media and promotional agencies, sports management organizations, corporate sponsorship executives that had worked on both the buy and the sell side of deals, as well as other organizations like arts and entertainment bodies that rely heavily on sponsorship development. A long list of potential candidates was identified throughout North America, and several expats in the industry working internationally. Extensive phone interviews resulted in a short list of candidates that were flown in for interviews from multiple cities in North America, Germany, and England, and subsequently interviewed by the client.

The successful candidate had a solid educational foundation with an undergrad in sports marketing and an MBA. He had an impressive background, having worked in sales for both national hockey and football teams early in his career. He progressed to working in a corporate sponsorship leadership role for an international brewery and a sales leadership role with a global leader in sports, events, and media. In his most recent role with a national broadcaster, he was the lead negotiator for a multi-million-dollar, multi-game Olympics Deal. The client for this deal became the exclusive broadcast rights holder for two Olympic Games, with an integrated program involving broadcast, online, and pre-promotion assets.