Few sports business execs manage a portfolio as big as MLSE's Shannon Hosford, who is currently in a "sports marketer’s dream" as the Raptors and Maple Leafs are both in the playoffs, according to a profile by Rachel Brady of the GLOBE & MAIL. Hosford, who serves as VP/Marketing & Communications, has "handled everything from playoff T-shirts to rally towels, TV commercials to logo re-brands, Drake nights" to the Maple Leafs’ centennial season celebration and the "wildly popular 'We The North' and 'Stand Witness' campaigns" for the Raptors. She has a team of 150 employees who "juggle nearly everything fan-facing for the Raptors, Leafs and Toronto FC." She "works in tandem" with team presidents Brendan Shanahan (Leafs), Masai Ujiri (Raptors) and Bill Manning (TFC) on "how the clubs should be branded and portrayed, and what fans should experience at the games." Hosford: "All three want their teams presented similarly; never with one star player singled out but always about the team, and that’s why we always have a couple of players or a bunch in ads." NHL Senior VP/Integrated Marketing Susan Cohig said, "In Toronto, you are promoting a team to a very knowledgeable and savvy fan-base, and that can be tricky. Being bold and willing to make statements can be risky, especially when you don’t know how a season will turn out, but that’s something I’ve always admired about MLSE. Shannon is able to take the learnings from one league and apply them across others" (GLOBE & MAIL, 4/19).
