Mike McCloud
President / CEO at World Food Championships- Claim this Profile
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English Native or bilingual proficiency
Topline Score
Bio
Randall Bowman
Mike is a driving force in his field. He never ceases to amaze me with his forward and outside the box thinking. He seems to always have his hand on the pulse of marketing and be making moves two and three steps ahead. I would never pass on the opportunity to engage Mike or MMA Creative. Some folks "do their job" and others go above and beyond. Mike has always hit the skies in my experiences with him.
Patrick Powell, MBA, CFRE 📸
Mike is one of the most creative and intelligent people I've ever had the pleasure to meet. He's passionate about being a UT Volunteer and never runs out of innovative ideas. I'm simply blown away by what he's doing in business and in life. I cannot wait to see what he does next!
Randall Bowman
Mike is a driving force in his field. He never ceases to amaze me with his forward and outside the box thinking. He seems to always have his hand on the pulse of marketing and be making moves two and three steps ahead. I would never pass on the opportunity to engage Mike or MMA Creative. Some folks "do their job" and others go above and beyond. Mike has always hit the skies in my experiences with him.
Patrick Powell, MBA, CFRE 📸
Mike is one of the most creative and intelligent people I've ever had the pleasure to meet. He's passionate about being a UT Volunteer and never runs out of innovative ideas. I'm simply blown away by what he's doing in business and in life. I cannot wait to see what he does next!
Randall Bowman
Mike is a driving force in his field. He never ceases to amaze me with his forward and outside the box thinking. He seems to always have his hand on the pulse of marketing and be making moves two and three steps ahead. I would never pass on the opportunity to engage Mike or MMA Creative. Some folks "do their job" and others go above and beyond. Mike has always hit the skies in my experiences with him.
Patrick Powell, MBA, CFRE 📸
Mike is one of the most creative and intelligent people I've ever had the pleasure to meet. He's passionate about being a UT Volunteer and never runs out of innovative ideas. I'm simply blown away by what he's doing in business and in life. I cannot wait to see what he does next!
Randall Bowman
Mike is a driving force in his field. He never ceases to amaze me with his forward and outside the box thinking. He seems to always have his hand on the pulse of marketing and be making moves two and three steps ahead. I would never pass on the opportunity to engage Mike or MMA Creative. Some folks "do their job" and others go above and beyond. Mike has always hit the skies in my experiences with him.
Patrick Powell, MBA, CFRE 📸
Mike is one of the most creative and intelligent people I've ever had the pleasure to meet. He's passionate about being a UT Volunteer and never runs out of innovative ideas. I'm simply blown away by what he's doing in business and in life. I cannot wait to see what he does next!
Credentials
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Certified BBQ Judge, E.A.T Certified, FoodChamp E.A.T. Instructor
Kansas City Barbeque Society, World Food ChampionshipsFeb, 2008- Oct, 2024
Experience
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MMA Creative and World Food Championships
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United States
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Advertising Services
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1 - 100 Employee
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President / CEO
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Jan 2012 - Present
World Food Championships CEO Mike McCloud is a marketing entrepreneur focused on making food competitions a long-term, fun-filled legacy for the culinary industry. A self-described champion of Food Sport, McCloud has been advising, strategizing, marketing and building brands for 30+ years. His major accomplishments include acquiring two agencies, publishing a regional business journal and creating/funding new ventures like the World Food Championships and a Food Champ talent firm. His marketing firm, MMA Creative, was the Agency of Record for KCBS, the world’s largest barbeque society. During that 12-year tenure, MMA also developed new marketing programs like the Great American Cookout tour, The Bull Burger Battles, and Cookoff Before Kickoff, a rivalry-based football tailgate program for Coca-Cola, AT&T, Heinz and Kingsford. In 2012 McCloud partnered with Las Vegas venues and culinary celebrities to produce the largest competition in Food Sport history – the World Food Championships. Almost 300 culinary champions gathered in Las Vegas to compete in the inaugural event. The event was filmed in 2013 for a reality show that aired 2014 on A&E’s FYI Channel. WFC’s 2014 competition grew 35% and culminated in the first $100,000 grand prize. In early 2016, WFC debuted its second TV show on the Discovery Network and is now syndicated in 10 countries. Such rapid success prompted a search for alternative destinations for strategic growth. That search landed WFC in Orange Beach, Alabama, where its 5th Anniversary in 2016 featured a World Food Fest and the event's debut on Food Network with a special show called Kid Chef Nation. In 2020, McCloud purchased the International Chili Society and relocated the World Championship Chili Cookoff to Myrtle Beach, SC. In 2022, WFC celebrated its 10th Anniversary in Dallas, Texas, where International team count soared and the brand achieved a record-setting media reach of more than 6 billion. Show less
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MMA Creative Inc
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Cookeville, Tennessee
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President/CEO
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Dec 1990 - Present
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Founder/Principal Advisor
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2005 - Dec 2008
PTT Ventures is a B2B publisher of business journals in strategic rural/micropolitan communities, including the Upper Cumberland Business Journal, which was founded in 2005 and remains in publication serving the business community of a 14-county region of Tennessee. PTT Ventures is a B2B publisher of business journals in strategic rural/micropolitan communities, including the Upper Cumberland Business Journal, which was founded in 2005 and remains in publication serving the business community of a 14-county region of Tennessee.
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Education
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1986 - 1990
University of Tennessee-Knoxville
Bachelor of Science, Communications
Community
