Caesars Entertainment
Sharon Otterman knew she was taking on a rebrand when she left her job as CMO of the Madison Square Garden Co. in 2018 to fill a similar role at William Hill U.S., a little known, U.K.-based sportsbook that would be expanding across the country.
She didn’t know that rebrand would be to Caesars, which acquired the brand through a long and slow merger, or that she’d have only 99 days between the close of the transaction and a launch date targeted to align with the start of last year’s football season.
“In some ways, it was exhilarating, like a roller coaster,” said Otterman, whose work included oversight of a highly visible ad campaign that cast JB Smoove as Caesar and Halle Berry as Cleopatra and eventually included the Mannings. “You’re so excited about the anticipation for what you can do. You’re scared to death about what’s going to happen when you get to the point where you launch. But you know going in that it’s a lifetime opportunity as a marketer to take an amazing, amazing brand and hold it in your hands and be able to craft it.”
Many who have jumped to jobs in the emerging U.S. sports betting sector have seen it as a career pivot. But Otterman said it was a logical next step in her career, which has included stops at ESPN and MSNBC.
“To me, it was a continuation of my own story because for most of my career I’ve been in storytellinag, creating narratives,” Otterman said. “We were building brands. … This is the same thing. This is now part of the sports fan’s experience. So to me, this was just the next step on the journey that kind of brought all the pieces together.” — Bill King
Sharon Otterman
Chief Marketing Officer, Caesars Digital, Caesars Entertainment
Born: Peekskill, N.Y.
Education: Ithaca College, B.S.; New York University, MBA
Family: Spouse, Jonathan; children, Jenna and Sophie (twins, 14)
More about Sharon
Guilty pleasure: Tequila.
Advice to my younger self: “This too shall pass.” If you take a deep breath, and wait a minute, things change quickly so don’t get so caught up in the stresses of the here and now.
Year's greatest challenge: The pivot from building a brand to building a sustainable business.
My leadership style is inspired by … : George Bodenheimer of ESPN, combined with Phil Griffin of NBC, combined with Doc O’Connor (formerly of MSG) and add in Chris Holdren of Caesars.
I wish I’d known at my career’s start: Not to get emotional about the moment … moments pass.
Advice to a young person looking to work in sports business: Do what you love to do. Don’t let anyone tell you that it's “too hard to get into.”
Change I'd make related to women working in sports: I would ask people to stop asking women if they liked sports.
