ATP World Tour Introduces Helfant As Exec Chair & President

Helfant Earns Praise For Brand Understanding

The ATP World Tour yesterday formally introduced former Nike Global Sports Marketing VP Adam Helfant as Exec Chair & President, replacing Etienne de Villiers. Helfant will begin his role immediately and will be based in London (ATP). ESPN.com's Bonnie Ford noted Helfant's "cachet as a former top executive with one of the world's biggest and best-known brands certainly enhanced his appeal to the power brokers" at the ATP. Sources said that Helfant has the "very basic negotiating skills essential for the job." NBA Deputy Commissioner & COO Adam Silver: "He understands the perspective of individual athletes and brands, but he also understands how individual athletes and brands can add value to a league or an organization like the ATP." Nike Global Dir of Basketball George Raveling, whom Helfant hired at Nike in '03, said Helfant is "at his absolute best when the heat is on and the issues become complex." Raveling: "Adam is a really bright person who doesn't try to beat you over the head with his intellect. His style of criticism was to let you know, in a very subtle way, that there might be a better way to do things. No one ever questioned his judgment." IMG Senior VP Tony Godsick, who represents ATP player Roger Federer, said Helfant's "biggest challenge ... is that there are so many great story lines out there in men's tennis right now." Godsick: "Will [Rafael Nadal] stay No. 1? Will (Andy) Murray win his first Slam? Will Roger break the (Slam) record? So how do you harness this excitement and put it into a package that will sell to fans and sponsors in a very challenging economic environment? Adam knows how to maneuver globally, and he has always wanted to get a deal done that was fair to both parties" (ESPN.com, 1/12).

SHAKING THINGS UP: ESPN.com's Peter Bodo wrote the ATP was "looking less for a presiding senior strategist than a young pup eager to build a reputation ... and perhaps an empire." One of the "most striking aspects of this choice is that, once again, the ATP has decided to go outside the game for its leadership." Bodo: "I've always been a little skeptical of the 'shake things up' school of thought, partly because the personal power of the ATP [Exec Chair] is drastically limited." And Helfant's resume "doesn't exactly scream 'visionary.'" But he will "have time to develop the insights and operational expertise of an insider," which is "something he'll need in order to focus on doing the right things at the right time in the right way." Bodo: "If I were in his shoes, the first person I would call for advice on the road ahead would be [WTA Tour Chair & CEO] Larry Scott" (ESPN.com, 1/12). Browns Vice Chair and former IMG CEO Bob Kain said of Helfant, "He has been around tennis, but he hasn't been in the thick of tennis politics. Being an American, he needs a very European (top) executive right away. It is a global job, and you don't want to appear too American" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 1/12 issue).

CHALLENGES RIGHT OFF THE BAT: TENNISWEEK.com reported the “most immediate challenge Helfant and the ATP face is recruiting a new global sponsor.” Mercedes-Benz, which had served as an ATP sponsor since ’96, did not renew its sponsorship deal after last year, and while the tour has “maintained since last September that it is ‘currently in discussions with a number of potential new sponsorship partners’ securing a title sponsor in a sagging global economy may well prove to be problematic.” Meanwhile, there is some speculation that ATP Int'l Group CEO Brad Drewett had the “inside track for the job as some sources said the ATP was wary of hiring someone outside of tennis to head the Tour in the aftermath of the de Villiers’ sometimes tempestuous tenure.” However, Helfant’s “experience in sport -- as well as the fact he is said to have impressed the ATP during his interview in New York City last month -- were key factors in his hiring” (TENNISWEEK.com, 1/12).