Since becoming the Pac-12’s first chief marketing officer in April 2010, Danette Leighton has played a prominent role in the new-look conference taking its place on the national stage. The addition of Colorado and Utah to the former Pac-10 meant a wholesale rebranding of the conference. To fuel that effort — and to increase the visibility of the member schools — Leighton established the first bicoastal media tour with the conference’s football coaches, and she’s worked to create more exposure opportunities for the programs east of the Mississippi River.

Leighton credits conference Commissioner Larry Scott for allowing her “the autonomy necessary to help make his vision come to life.” And despite rumors of the conference adding more schools in the changing landscape of college sports, Leighton said she remains focused on “making sure the work we’ve done to rebrand our conference continues and the story we’re telling remains consistent for us across both the networks as well as our conference.”