CHRISTINA HONDROMIHALIS Kevin McSherry joins the ranks of Forty Under 40 this year, but his ties to the program run deep, as he broke into the business under a past honoree. That start, 13 years ago, came with an entry-level job at IMG assisting former IMG Consulting chief David Abrutyn (class of 2008), who’s now a principal at Bruin Sports Capital.
McSherry has since risen to be one of the senior members of a consulting team that has won Visa and Anheuser-Busch as clients in the past 16 months. Abrutyn says he’s not surprised.
“My initial observation was that Kevin was detail-oriented,” Abrutyn said. “I came to learn that he’s actually detail-obsessed.”
McSherry laughs about it now, but one of his earliest college internship interviews was with IMG.
“I bombed it,” he recalled. Still, wanting to pursue a career in sports marketing, he took a number of unpaid internships. The last one, with the New York Jets, grew into a full-time job, and he subsequently got another chance at an IMG interview. Thirteen years later, he’s a big reason the agency scored those recent wins.
“Kevin’s incredibly committed and a real student of the industry,” said Ed Horne, consulting chief at WME-IMG. “Those things, combined with an ability to create and foster great client relationships, have made him a rising star.”
One of McSherry’s first big assignments was working on Philips’ sponsorship of the 2003 FIFA Women’s World Cup. A few years later, he moved to Los Angeles to put a stake in the ground for IMG Consulting there while helping plan and orchestrate the strategy that led to Kia’s NBA sponsorship. Following that triumph, McSherry engineered USAA’s entrée to the NFL, closing the sponsorship while the NFL was in a lockout.
McSherry said he chose marketing as a career because “I like storytelling.” Co-workers and clients give him kudos for energy, discipline and a focus on process that’s become renowned.
“I’m big on checklists, decision criteria and authenticity,” McSherry said. “That’s how we’ve grown this agency.”
— Terry Lefton
Kevin McSherry
WME-IMG | VP, Global Partnerships, Strategy and Activation
Age: 36
Where born: Hackensack, N.J.
Education: Boston College (B.S., marketing); Pepperdine University, Graziadio School of Business and Management (MBA)
Family: Wife, Christina; child, Ava (3)
Advice I’d give to my younger self: Don’t mistake activity with productivity.
2016 will be a good year if: I can continue to help my family and my clients grow in meaningful ways.
Person in the industry I’d like to meet: Vin Scully.
I’d like to change jobs for a day with: A No. 1 NFL pick on draft day, just to see what that would be like.
Groups supported: Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America; DonorsChoose.org.
Most thrilling/adventurous thing I’ve done: Riding bobsled and skeleton on the Olympic courses in Lake Placid.
You’d be surprised to know: I was a contestant on “The Price Is Right” and lost by a dollar.
