Executive Director, Brand & Fan Marketing

Executive Director, Brand & Fan Marketing Position Overview

The Chicago Bulls, one of the most iconic and well-known global sports brands, are building a future-looking marketing capability that applies a combination of data‑driven insight and creativity to drive fan development and support organizational growth. We are seeking a dynamic and strategic Executive Director, Brand & Fan Marketing to help lead the vision, planning, and execution of initiatives that build brand equity, deepen fan loyalty, and grow our fanbase across key audiences and channels.

Reporting to the Vice President of Fan Development and Growth Marketing, this individual will oversee two teams – Integrated Marketing and Brand & Fan Development – that are charged with cultivating our fanbase to support future org‑wide growth, ensuring our org‑wide efforts are aligned and consistent, and driving maximum, measurable impact.

• Develop long‑term strategic plans to guide and shape the work of the Integrated Marketing and Brand & Fan Development teams
• Lead strategy and planning for tentpole and marquee activations that align brand and revenue goals collaborating alongside key stakeholders
• Develop and implement fan engagement strategies rooted in audience insights, behavioral data, and brand values, aimed at driving affinity, loyalty, and conversion
• Play pivotal role in developing overarching marketing strategy to support ticket sales
• Serve key leadership role in driving collaborative efforts that develop programs and initiatives to support corporate partnership sales and activation
• Drive the development of the organization’s youth marketing strategy

• Ensure org‑wide alignment on initiatives that span across multiple departments (e.g., ticketing products, partnership sales and activation, theme nights, cause marketing efforts)
• Own fan development initiatives that bring new fans into the mix and deepen existing fan relationships
• Own and direct the Bulls “institutional assets” (i.e., drops, in‑arena signage) to ensure we are maximizing their use and impact

• Steer collaborative efforts with other Chicago teams, groups, and vendors to expand brand and reach and strengthen relationships with fans
• Explore opportunities to partner with brands in and outside of the sports industry on relevant cross‑promotional collaborations that support org‑wide goals

• Identify data capture opportunities to bring fans into the Bulls ecosystem and work cross‑departmentally to develop approaches to report attributable revenue and brand value
• Work with the Business Strategy & Analytics team to develop processes to track and measure team efforts to ensure marketing efforts drive results

• Manage, mentor, and develop full‑time staff members encouraging a collaborative and inclusive environment
• Represent the Marketing team in larger org‑wide working group settings
• Manage the marketing budget, monitor expenses closely to increase value

An ideal candidate will have high degrees of professionalism, sensitivity, and integrity, combined with excellent attention to detail and organizational and interpersonal skills (oral and written). You should have a strong mix of the following:

• A minimum of 10 years of proven experience in marketing, brand strategy, or a related field. Experience in sports or entertainment is a plus
• Proven experience managing multiple full‑time staff team members
• Experience handling large budgets and departmental operations
• Working familiarity with data capture, digital channels, creative development, and events
• A strategic thinker who is equally comfortable in high‑level planning and hands‑on execution, with keen attention to detail and timelines
• Profound understanding of marketing principles and standard methodologies
• Strong ability to adapt to changing timelines and ad‑hoc requests
• A supportive, motivated, experienced team leader that inspires others towards continuous learning and success
• Excellent teammate, with positive energy and proven ability to collaborate with…