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The NFL has hired former MasterCard marketer Shawn Dennis as its new head of marketing, making her one of the league's highest-ranking female executives. Dennis left her job as vice president and group head of global co-branding at MasterCard last month and is so new to her job at the league that her title has not been formalized beyond vice president and head of marketing.
The NFL has quietly been searching for a chief marketing officer for some time. Dennis will be responsible for managing the NFL's relationship with ad agency Young & Rubicam, fan affinity, ticketing, database and customer relationship management initiatives. She will report to NFL senior vice president of marketing and sales John Collins. Since Collins also oversees the league's corporate sponsorship and marketing departments, Dennis also will be involved in the league's sponsorship matters.
Dennis' seven years at MasterCard give the league a solid base of payment-card industry expertise as the league attempts to renew its credit card agreements with MBNA and Visa, which expire after next season. MasterCard's structure — an association owned by member banks — is not unlike the NFL's structure — a league owned by its teams. Dennis also knows the corporate sponsorship business, having spent eight years with Universal Studios as vice president of corporate sponsorship. Her entertainment background meshes well with Collins' well-known devotion for mixing sports with entertainment to create broad affinity.
Prior to joining the NFL, Dennis described her favorite brands by saying, "McDonald's for their consistency, Starbucks for the ability to convince me that a cup of coffee is worth four bucks, Disney for their ability to put a smile on my children's faces and Honda for living up to their promise of reliability."
Dennis' appointment continues the reorganization of the NFL's marketing and sponsorship departments. In February, Collins was elevated to his current role. Senior vice president of corporate sponsorship Jim Schwebel resigned after 20 years, and Mark Donovan, senior director of corporate sales, left in May to join the Philadelphia Eagles as senior vice president of business operations.
The hiring should help diversify the NFL's executive ranks, as the league recently received a "D-" in gender hiring in the "Racial and Gender Report Card" issued by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sports at the University of Central Florida.
