Aaron Taylor, ESPN's Top Marketing Exec Leaving after 17 Years

ESPN’s top marketing exec is leaving the company. Aaron Taylor, the company’s Senior VP/Marketing, told his staff yesterday that he is stepping down after nearly 17 years, citing a desire to try something new. Taylor’s departure comes days after ESPN laid off around 300 people in a cost-cutting move, but ESPN says the two are not related and more related to a realignment of ESPN’s marketing and sales divisions. The network will hire a new marketing head.

Tasked with overseeing all aspects of ESPN’s marketing, the well-liked Taylor is perhaps best known for ESPN’s “This Is SportsCenter” – a campaign created by Wieden+Kennedy in '94 and overseen by Taylor for 14 of his 17-year ESPN run. Taylor also ran well-known ESPN campaigns like “Without Sports…,” “It’s Not Crazy, It’s Sports” and “Is It Monday Yet?"