Hired by Fanatics last October as chief commercial officer, Gahagan is hoping to bring that same sort of disruption to licensed sports merchandise. Fanatics has recently been buying up league and team rights, operating merchandise concessions at venues, and now manufacturing licensed products. It’s a vertical model that’s been talked about for years, but no company had the size, resources or rights with big sports properties — until Fanatics began to roll up licensing.

Sacramento Kings President and COO Chris Granger worked with Gahagan on the NBA’s first Ticketmaster deal. “He’s always looking for the creative solution,” said Granger, who has Fanatics as a business partner at Golden 1 Center. “Like ticketing then, the means of distribution are changing for merchandise, and I think Cole’s uniquely qualified to engineer that change in merch and again make the fan experience better, regardless of channel.” Gahagan is praised across sports for high-level analytical skills and an ability to speak tech to non-techies.

“What’s made Cole so successful is that he’s very likable, smart and obviously good at building businesses,” said Chad Estis, executive vice president of business operations for the Dallas Cowboys and president of Legends Global Sales.

Principal among Gahagan’s new concerns is building an “omnichannel” retail model, with common distribution, inventory sales, and a shared loyalty program, across brick and mortar, e-commerce and venue retail. “If we do that right, customer loyalty will follow.”

— Terry Lefton