Managing Partner for a full-service marketing communications agency made up of 60+ employees with core competencies in mobile activation, sponsorship and consumer experiences. Some of the highlights and accomplishments include:• Provided aggregate savings of over $10,000,000 on major league sports sponsorships and cultural lifestyle events.• Created proprietary, nationally recognized brand centric mobile activations for Bulleit Bourbon, Tulley’s Coffee, Johnnie Walker, Seagram’s 7 and Stella Rosa Wine that have touched thousands of events, crossed tens of thousands of miles and viewed by millions. • Constructed and managed consumer visitor’s centers in Louisville KY (Diageo), Shelbyville KY (Bulleit), Tullahoma TN (George Dickel) and Atotonilco, MX (Don Julio) that have educated and entertained hundreds of thousands each calendar year.• Delivered and taught a comprehensive sports and lifestyle sponsorship strategy for the world’s largest Rum brand, providing a tangible approach to negotiating agreements of all sizes that maximize the goals and objectives for both regional and national interests. Emphasis focused on pro-active negotiation, regulatory compliance and fair market value.• Leveraged and created multi-platform agreements with personalities associated across multiple brand sponsored sports and consumer lifestyle properties for retail and B2B programming.

Developed public relations, communications and activation strategies for Diageo’s Global priority brands including Jose Cuervo, Captain Morgan and Crown Royal. Was responsible for annual brand PR and event budgets ranging from $10,000 to $12,000,000 respectively, depending on business scale and market objectives. Highlights include:• Launched the first distilled spirit sponsorship into NASCAR, with the advent of the Crown Royal International Race of Champions (IROC) at Daytona International Speedway, creating a social responsibility platform that allowed the spirits industry to compete in an arena once exclusive to the beer category.• Managed Diageo’s largest Hispanic marketing effort at the time with Jose Cuervo’s sponsorship of the Mexican National soccer team and its sponsorship with the MLS. A key driver was a social responsibility program titled “A Mexico lo IIevas puesto siempre. Vive Responsablemente,” which was integrated across all executions. • Activated for Captain Morgan stunt marketing campaigns across multiple event platforms including major sports, music festivals and consumer lifestyle events.• Led Jose Cuervo’s beach lifestyle program through its $2,000,000 sponsorship of the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP). Built an aggregate group of pro players called Team Cuervo, helping the sponsorship generate increased retail store traffic and regional sales by 300%.• Created the single most expensive Canadian Whisky ever at the time, valued at $10,000 per 750 ml bottle, for Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to Churchill Downs and the Kentucky Derby leveraging Crown Royal’s 12-year sponsorship of the Derby’s American Turf Classic. • Was a proactive member of Diageo’s Corporate Relations in forming and generating public policy around the company’s multiple “Responsible Drinking” campaigns.

Led the strategic planning and implementation of public relations and event marketing programs for nine Seagram brands in the North American Whiskey and Tequila categories. Responsibilities included Brand Communications, Brand Sponsorships, Media Training, Brand Education and multi-cultural marketing. Managed six different PR, activation and promotion agencies across the communications mix. Highlights include:• Facilitated the global transition of Seagram’s North American Whiskey Portfolio over to its new 2002 owners, Diageo PLC.• Managed all press relations around the national launch of Seagram’s two largest tequila brands, Don Julio and Margaritaville.• Negotiated and activated brand sponsorship programs for the largest arena comedy tour in history, the Crown Royal Kings of Comedy. A Walter Latham Presents property, the talent included Steve Harvey, Cedric the Entertainer, DL Hughley and Bernie Mac.• Managed and expanded the Team Crown Royal BASS fishing program, growing its PR reach by 500%.• Developed regional consumer activations for Crown Royal PRCA (Rodeo) championships during the Las Vegas National Finals Rodeo creating double digit growth for the brand.• Created the inaugural Margaritaville Longboard Surfing Open series, which gathered over 100 million media impressions over its annual 10-event schedule at multiple beaches and water parks.• Acted as the Seagram Corporate tour lead for the Jimmy Buffett Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday national music tour presented by Margaritaville Tequila.

Managed for Philip Morris, IndyCar’s largest and most historically significant CPG sports sponsorship in the history of the sport. Responsibilities and successes include:• P&L responsibility for a $30,000,000 event marketing and sponsorship budget. During this tenure created Marlboro Racing’s first ever Racing School, annually communicating the sweepstakes/contest program to a 5,000,000-person database and delivering the experience to thousands of winners. Described by the PM USA Executive as the most successful experiential direct mail/sweepstakes campaign ever.• Led a team of ten direct reports and five full time agencies responsible for marketing, public relations, and operational fulfillment of all programs. On any given race weekend was accountable for over 250 full time and part time employees.• Negotiated and allocated resources to more than 100 contracts annually for: title sponsorships, category sponsorships, consultants, vendors and agencies for the full operational functionality of the Marlboro Motorsports Program. The regulatory climate and the PM USA Executive would not permit any long-term deals during this period.