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Forty Under 40

Forty Under 40: Troup Parkinson


OLIVIA WHITNEY
In his 13 years with the Boston Red Sox, Troup Parkinson has never deleted an email, much to the chagrin of the team’s IT department. Among the messages he often revisits is one from human resources in 2003 informing him that his internship period with the team had come to an end. He forwarded the message along to Sam Kennedy, who had hired him the previous year.

Kennedy’s response? “Delete it. You’re staying here for a long time.”

Fortunately for the Red Sox, Kennedy proved prophetic. Since joining the club, Parkinson has ascended through the Red Sox’s front office, working with partnerships and clients services for the team. During that same time, the team’s sponsorship portfolio has grown fourfold, from 30 partners to 120.

Kennedy, now president of the club, said the team’s partnership revenue has quintupled in that time, something he attributed to Parkinson’s infectious personality and ability to form meaningful relationships.

“I can’t tell you how many times ... CEOs, CMOs have said to me, ‘You know what, Sam? We were considering not renewing or moving money to a different area — outdoor, television, radio, Internet — instead of a Red Sox sponsorship, but we just couldn’t say ‘No’ to Troup,” Kennedy said. “‘We couldn’t not do business with Troup.’”

Parkinson said the key to the Red Sox’s sponsorship business has been ensuring that the team and the brands are “completely intertwined in everything we do.” Every baby born at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center — the team’s longtime hospital partner — dons a tiny Red Sox cap. W.B. Mason, a company older than the Red Sox themselves, is a household name in the region thanks in part to its logo presence on Fenway Park’s Green Monster.

“People say, ‘Of course; you’ve had them forever.’ Well, not really, they got here in ’03,” Parkinson said. “We’ve been able to make people comfortable and be part of the fabric of this great old ballpark and the brand.”

— Alex Silverman

Troup Parkinson

Boston Red Sox | EVP, Partnerships
Age: 40 (turned 40 in February)
Where born: New York City
Education: St. Lawrence University (B.A., sociology)
Family: Wife, Alexandra; children, Oscar (9), Fletcher (6), Hilary (2)

Advice I’d give to my younger self: Always be yourself, and triple-check all emails before you send them.
2016 will be a good year if: The Red Sox win the World Series.
Person in the industry I’d like to meet: Bob Iger.

I’d like to change jobs for a day with: Barack Obama — not only to get a sense of how absolutely impossible the job is, but also for some necessary perspective.
Group supported: Human Relations Services, a private, nonprofit mental health agency serving families and children in Wellesley, Weston and Wayland, Mass.
Most thrilling/adventurous thing I’ve done: Asking my then-girlfriend of seven years to marry me.
You’d be surprised to know: I would be an interior decorator if I were not working in sports.

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