Visa Head of Global Sponsorship Marketing MICHAEL LYNCH, one of the most influential voices in the sports sponsorship industry, has resigned after 16 years with the leading payment-card brand. Lynch was one of the first people hired specifically for sponsorship marketing for Visa, which has a portfolio that includes the Olympics as an IOC sponsor, along with the FIFA World Cup and the NFL. Lynch, who headed domestic and later global sponsorship marketing at Visa, will stay at Visa through March. Lynch said in an e-mail yesterday, "I have decided to pursue the next phase of my business career. We have shared many great successes over the years and are proud to have one of the finest and most enviable sports and entertainment sponsorship portfolios in the business.” There is no word on a successor at Visa nor of a new job for Lynch, although he does plan to stay in the sports business. In recent years, his name has been rumored for several open NGB and Olympic-related marketing positions. Lynch joined Visa in '95 after serving as VP/Events for Radio City Music Hall Productions in N.Y. Prior to that, Lynch was a VP at ProServ.
