Experience

&Mother
• Belgium
• Renewable Energy Semiconductor Manufacturing
• 1 - 100 Employee
• Business Development & Partnerships, Consultant

  • Feb 2023 - Present


SheIS Sports Network

• Spectator Sports
• 1 - 100 Employee

• President

  • Mar 2022 - Present

  SheIS Sports Network will launch later this year as a mobile platform giving fans of women’s sports one destination to get all the content they love from their favorite sports around the world. The app will aggregate content and create all-new global women's sports coverage with live streaming, clips, stats, betting, community engagement, and more. Our Founder, Brenda Andress, has a rich history in championing women’s sports having served as the Commissioner of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League for over 12 years and as the Founder of SheIS Sport, a not for profit founded in 2017 dedicated to mobilizing fans around the world to grow women’s sports. The idea of a centralized mobile platform for fans of women’s sports around the globe was born out of Brenda’s experiences and her desire to build something that uplifts women in sport at all levels. The platform will provide fans an easy tool to explore content on any sport they love from around the world and more easily find where games are broadcast based on their region. Our product leans into our mission of giving a voice to all women in sport with features including the ability for athletes, from amateur to professional level athletes, to add themselves into the app so that they can be discovered by fans. Our business model also puts this mission at the center with a percentage of revenue being reinvested into SheIS Sport to give back to support the growth of women’s sports at all levels. Want to be the first to experience the SheIS app? Reach out to me to set up time or subscribe to our newsletter here to get exclusive access when the beta goes live: https://www.sheissportsapp.com/



Rakuten

• Japan
• Technology, Information and Internet
• 700 & Above Employee

• Senior Director, Sports and Entertainment

  • Feb 2018 - Mar 2022

  Built the Sports & Entertainment department for Rakuten Americas including hiring and coaching a team, creating partnership strategy, implementing measurement frameworks, developing hospitality infrastructure and ROI tracking, and onboarding and oversight of the agency of record. Championed and governed partnership strategies, advocating adoption across businesses and departments. Positioned Rakuten Americas’ partnership portfolio to drive KPIs, delivering stellar brand and business impact. Oversight of our global partnerships that were owned by the Americas region and managed up to three cost centers throughout tenure, between $30-50M annually. Recommended opportunities through an evaluation framework, assembling and implementing portfolios to keep up with Rakuten brand evolution and ecosystem needs. Planned and spearheaded experiential and digital activations at large scale events and decided upon partner and third-party agency involvement. Co-founded and served as the Women at Rakuten Employee Resources Group VP. Partnership Accomplishments: –Negotiated partnership with Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, a Jersey partner, and the first NBA badge partner, as a brand ambassador. –Negotiated the 2019 presenting partnership with Stephen Curry for The Underrated Tour, a high school basketball camp series, yielding significant content generation and earned media for Rakuten. –Nearly 50% of nationwide and Bay Area fans were more likely to consider Rakuten due to these partnerships. –Executive produced the documentary The Rising: Hoop Origins with Stephen Curry which was released on Rakuten channels and YouTube, garnering 1M views. –Grew Rakuten’s brand awareness 91% among NBA fans nationwide since the inception of the partnerships, outpacing other brands. –Fostered a 350% rise in sponsorship awareness over the past three NBA seasons among nationwide fans and a 61% increase among Bay Area fans.



Esurance

• United States
• Insurance
• 700 & Above Employee

• Brand Partnerships Manager

  • Jun 2015 - Jan 2018

  Managed the brand partnerships strategy and multimillion dollars in annual spend, earning a 2016 team nomination as Sports Sponsor of the Year from the Sports Business Journal. Launched integrated marketing campaigns, pitched new partnership opportunities and campaigns to senior leadership. Directed a combined staff of four, cross-functional marketing teams, and the agency of record. Drove awareness across national and regional partnerships, increasing brand preference and consideration. Created and executed successful influencer marketing campaigns, negotiating with sponsors as well as celebrity and athlete influencer agents. Partnership Portfolio Accomplishments -Developed content campaign that leveraged the star power of HGTV’s Property Brothers hosted by The Scott Brothers, earning 74,000 Facebook shares with 42M video views and 27,000 blog shares. -Utilizing Twitter, Snapchat and an experiential pop-up, helped Esurance, a major SXSW 2016 event sponsor, become one of Adweek’s top five most buzzed about brands with 177M impressions. -Garnered large-scale impact with the MLB partnership with 10B+ impressions over 2.5 seasons. Integrated celebrity influencers into the MLB All-Star Game activations using Facebook Live and other social media platforms. Gained large impact through PR, digital, Esurance All-Star Game ballot branding, and in-stadium signage. -Leveraged partnership assets with San Francisco Giants player Buster Posey for integrated marketing and national campaigns. As the 2017 activation/media campaign spokesperson, created a successful MLB All-Star Game virtual reality experience featuring Posey. -Earned over 1B+ impressions from the MiLB partnership utilizing digital and social media and in-stadium assets. Executed a #CallUpWorthy campaign using shareable digital baseball cards on Twitter and Instagram. -Implemented a 49ers fan loyalty program. Promoted the program via game day signage, digitally, and through Snapchat fan engagement.



Houston Dynamo

• United States
• Spectator Sports
• 200 - 300 Employee

• Director, Partnership Marketing

  • Oct 2010 - Jan 2015

  Led the Partnership Marketing department. Oversaw and developed four staff responsible for account management and fulfillment for the Houston Dynamo team, Houston Dash (NWSL), and BBVA Compass Stadium. Administered 60+ accounts and a multimillion dollar operating budget.Authored marketing and digital content plans for 2015 business plan inclusion. Spearheaded quarterly entity meetings with 100 attendees, reporting business updates and leading team building activities. Worked with the executive teams to craft 2014 meeting agendas. Forged successful partnership strategies for blue chip advertiser brands (e.g., Visa, Budweiser, Adidas, EA Sports, Dr Pepper Snapple Group). Utilized research analytics (i.e., Scarborough, Meltwater, Critical Mention, Sponsorship Navigator) to drive business development and client retention.BBVA Compass Stadium & Houston Dynamo-Managed the two largest sponsorship accounts, BBVA Compass, the stadium naming rights and Houston Dash jersey partner; and BHP Billiton, a Houston Dynamo jersey partner. -After helping prepare the stadium branding strategy, collaborated with a stadium and arena company, a construction group, and the executive team to prepare and implement the creative strategy and partner branding for the stadium opening. -Wrote a BBVA Compass business plan that incorporated in-stadium signage and technology with digital, social media (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), and traditional platforms. -Representing BBVA Compass, negotiated contracts with two Houston Dynamo players, Brian Ching and Tally Hall, and their agents to become brand spokespeople. Executed digital video campaigns that elevated BBVA credit card applications 30% YOY. -Led a cross-functional team of 15+ that launched the 2014 Houston Dynamo jersey partnership. The team hosted a media event announcement and party for Dynamo fans that met partner objectives for earned media value and deepened the fan relationship.

• Senior Account Executive/Account Executive, Corporate Development

  • Feb 2009 - Oct 2010

  Secured and renewed sponsorships with local and national companies (e.g., Dr Pepper Snapple Group, P&G, CenterPoint Energy). Performed lead generation; made compelling client presentations; prepared campaign content; and crafted proposals, negotiating contracts. Acquired six new sponsors in 2009 and produced sizable revenue for the 2010 season. Selected to serve as the communications lead for a six-person team charged with promoting a 2010 MLS exhibition game in the Corpus Christi market.

• Senior Account Executive/Account Executive, Ticket Sales

  • Jan 2006 - Jul 2009

  Delivered revenue for the team by building relationships with corporations (e.g., Shell Oil Company, Igloo, Waste Management), individuals, and youth soccer clubs as a top three ticket account executive for renewals and ticket and group revenue. Earned top 20 out of 400 Major League Soccer sales representatives for ticket revenue and group sales during the 2006 through 2009 seasons. Achieved second place in 2006 for ticket revenue.Managed the Inaugural Dynamo Charities Corporate Cup in 2009 including: staffing, ancillary events, budget administration, team package pricing and benefits, sponsorship elements, and marketing.



SPARQ, Nike Partner

• Events Intern

  • May 2005 - Aug 2005

  Managed logistics for events across the country that tested high school age athletes on their speed, power, agility, reaction, and quickness. Managed logistics for events across the country that tested high school age athletes on their speed, power, agility, reaction, and quickness.



Houston Texans/Lone Star Sports & Entertainment

• Intern

  • 2004 - 2005

  Ran point on an international soccer event featuring teams from the English Premier League and the Mexican First Division. Ran point on an international soccer event featuring teams from the English Premier League and the Mexican First Division.