The ATP is replacing the head of its commercial business arm and switching the position back to Europe.
After just a year in the job, Chris Clouser is stepping down as chief executive of ATP Properties and president of the ATP, though he will remain as chairman of the commercial unit and run the men’s tennis governing body’s charity.
In his place steps Richard Davies, who ran a South African golf tournament until April, when he was hired as Properties’ chief operating officer. His title is managing director.
“Richard will lead our global commercial activities from our European headquarters,” ATP Chief Executive Officer Mark Miles wrote in an internal memo to employees last Wednesday. “His responsibilities will include sales and marketing, Mercedes-Benz premier sponsor relations, international television and the ATP Delta Tour of Champions [the European senior men’s circuit].”
Clouser wanted to spend more time with his wife, Patsy, explained Miles in the memo. A marketing veteran of Burger King and Northwest Airlines, Clouser arrived in June 2003 to replace Larry Scott, who departed to run the WTA Tour. Scott had been based in London, but Clouser set up shop in the ATP’s Ponte Vedra, Fla., headquarters. In his time there, he added European household appliances company Indesit to the ATP sponsorship vault and hashed out a streaming highlights package with AOL.
“We are on pace to meet and hopefully surpass our 2004 revenue targets, which many thought were overly aggressive,” Miles wrote.
