Veteran marketer Ashlee Huffman has been promoted to general manager of CSM’s motorsports practice in North America.
Huffman went to work in racing in 2004, when she joined motorsports agency Just Marketing International. JMI was subsequently acquired by CSM.
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In the last three years, London-based CSM has grown from very little presence in the U.S. to nearly 400 employees through a series of acquisitions. A large part of Huffman’s job, in addition to growing the motorsports business, will be continuing the integration process “so we can help clients discover the value across CSM,” she said.
During her time in racing, Huffman has worked on some of the agency’s most high-profile business, including Crown Royal’s entry in NASCAR when the sanctioning body lifted its ban on spirits in the mid-2000s. Since then, she has worked in all aspects of the agency, most recently overseeing business affairs.
Huffman will be CSM’s first general manager for motorsports in the U.S., and she will report to David Webb, CEO of CSM’s brands division. Chris Long, managing director in Europe and Asia, also works on motorsports.
“Ashlee has been instrumental in our motorsports practice for over 12 years,” said Jeff Shifrin, CSM’s co-CEO.
Huffman will remain in Indianapolis.
“We will be working across all of the different sanctioning bodies in motorsports, and we’ll be especially focused on the North American consumer,” Huffman said.
While NASCAR and other properties are being challenged with audience erosion, Huffman looks forward to telling a different story.
“There’s a lot of misconceptions out there about motorsports, so we have to do some mythbusting,” she said. “While audiences are down, motorsports still has the most people attending live events.”
