Sandy Cross Email & Phone Number

Frisco, Texas, Us

As an Executive Team Member and key thought partner to the CEO and the entire C-suite team of this 31,000-member professional trade association, I drive the long-term strategic plan and organizational development initiatives by building a best-in-class workplace. In the face of a pandemic, I established shared values at every stage of the employee experience, which enabled the transformation to a culture focused on people and values. On the DE&I side, I launched a strategy that embedded inclusion and diversity across all lines of business. Today, PGA's multigenerational workforce is 43% gender diverse and 20% racially diverse.

Frisco, Texas, Us

I championed the development of a game, golf industry workforce, and supply chain that better reflected America by creating and launching two different educational programs: The Fundamentals of Diversity & Inclusion and The Language of Inclusion. My efforts extended beyond the PGA of America's membership and workforce to include the Board of Directors. By designing and launching PGA LEAD - an emerging leadership development program for diverse talent - the face of boardrooms across the Association changed to include members of diverse genders, races, ethnicities, and sexual orientations.

Frisco, Texas, Us

-- First of its kind, dedicated position within the PGA and the golf industry at large focused on changing the way we engage women and non-traditional demographics -- Co-developed the scope and delivered the PGA’s “Connecting With Her” strategic initiative to drive new customer consideration, trial, acquisition and retention in golf through education and training, alliance relationships, events and programming, and marketing and communications -- Co-developed a comprehensive Connecting With Her Playbook; an educational tool for golf industry professionals, which was delivered via print, digital and instructor-led formats -- Concepted, developed and launched Get Golf Ready Employee Talent Development as a team building, leadership development, health and wellness and sales tool for companies across America, e.g. CSX, Deloitte, KPMG, Lexmark, Jackson Spalding, Reed Exhibitions -- Concepted, developed and launched the Get Golf Ready Power Mixer; an experiential marketing activity held at non-golf venues to reduce intimidation and spark interest and enrollment in golf, e.g. AT&T’s National Employee Resource Group Conference, The World of Whirlpool in Chicago’s Reid Murdoch Center, The Estate nightclub in Boston's theater district -- Concepted, developed and executed Beyond the Green, a women’s professional development and empowerment event on on-site at PGA Major Championships, which served as the proof of concept giving birth to today’s KPMG Women’s Leadership Summit; held annually for 300 executive and young professional women -- Led PGA’s first-ever participation in the U.S. Department of State and espnW Global Sports Mentoring Program, hosting emerging leaders from Egypt, Jordan and Qatar; helping them shape action plans to solve for challenges on the ground in their home countries through sport

Frisco, Texas, Us

-- Identified, pitched, negotiated, and executed multi-year, multi-million dollar partnership agreements with dozens of partners, including American Express, Amstel Light, General Motors, Lexmark, National Car Rental, OfficeMax, OMEGA, PepsiCo, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, The Royal Bank of Scotland, and United Rentals, many of which still exist today -- Acted as sales liaison for all departments within the PGA to access inventory and assets for partnership sales packages -- Developed customized activations and promotional platforms with corporate partners and their agencies that integrated on-air, digital, print, on-venue and in-market assets -- Directed the activation of partners’ promotional programs to underpin the Ryder Cup, PGA Championship, Senior PGA Championship, PGA Grand Slam of Golf, and amateur and junior golf marketing initiatives, as well as member benefit programs for our 28,000 PGA Professionals employed at 10,000 golf facilities nationwide -- Directed the PGA’s high-end client and prospect entertainment activities during Major Championships and industry gatherings for senior level executives of prestigious brands. -- Conceived, developed, and executed programs and initiatives to grow women’s participation in the game of golf including PGA.com’s first women’s-focused broadband show, and the PGA’s first executive women’s golf school -- Directed and managed the Business Development account executive staff; ensuring a smooth transition after each partnership sale, and subsequent delivery against the partnership promise

Frisco, Texas, Us

-- Negotiated 10-year, multimillion dollar contract extension with PepsiCo -- Developed, presented and negotiated partnerships to full contract execution with particular focus on sales and activation to increase revenue and reach of the PGA brand -- Managed relationships with key executives at partners and their agencies, developing strategic marketing plans for ensured ROI. Leading partners included Amstel Light, General Motors, OfficeMax, PepsiCo, Raymond James and Sprint

Frisco, Texas, Us

-- Responsible for account management and activation of $45 million worth of contractual obligations for key partners including Hyatt, Nikon, Rolex, Unisys, Titleist, and TaylorMade. -- Negotiated new, and renewed existing, licensing and sponsorship agreements -- Ensured high-quality servicing of all corporate partners, emphasizing over-delivery on elements and consistently exceeding their expectations to help ensure renewals at end of term -- Fostered development of Golf Retirement Plus ™ and managed day-to-day operations, growing participation to 7,300 account holders, $80M invested, and 46 sponsoring companies

Frisco, Texas, Us

-- Developed and launched Golf Retirement Plus™ with Mercer and Security Benefit Life; an unprecedented, supplemental retirement program for PGA Professionals -- Developed and executed annual marketing and communications plans for corporate licensees and sponsors valued at $45 million -- Assisted in the development of tailored proposals representing the PGA to corporate prospects

Frisco, Texas, Us

-- Executed annual marketing and communications plans for each corporate licensee ensuring the PGA exceeded expectations on its contractual obligations -- Executed event critical paths for high-end client and prospect entertainment at Ryder Cup, PGA Championship, Senior PGA Championship and PGA Grand Slam of Golf -- Executed General Motors’ event courtesy vehicle program consisting of 600 vehicles annually for major championships

Us

-- Coordinated corporate membership sales and marketing for this non-profit educational organization committed to promoting aquatics, water exercise and national certifications -- Directed and marketed annual International Water Fitness & Aquatic Therapy Conference -- Coordinated the development of the National Aquatic Bookstore and its sales and marketing -- Editor of the National Water Fitness Newsletter, circulation 10,000, 16 page, bi-monthly

Cleveland, Ohio, Us

-- Coordinated Cleveland Cavaliers’ & Cleveland Lumberjacks’ licensed merchandise programs -- Coordinated the “Team Gift Shop” and the Cavaliers’ Official Team Merchandise Catalog -- Supervised 100+ concession workers and novelty vendors within the Richfield Coliseum -- Implemented a vendor incentive program to increase employee motivation and sales

M.A., Sport Administration

B.A., Legal