Partnership Strategy
More than 25 years shaping global partnerships at the intersection of sport, entertainment, gaming, and brand, spanning agency leadership in South Africa and the United States, with impact throughout South America, Russia, Europe, Asia, and Africa.
Embedded within The Coca-Cola Company, strategically activated global platforms across Football (FIFA, MLS, U.S. Soccer), the Olympic Movement (IOC), music (UMG), and gaming — identifying, negotiating, and activating partnerships with organizations including Riot Games, Blizzard, EA Sports, Square Enix, and Epic Games.
Co-authored Coca-Cola’s Global Marketing Asset Framework, redefining how sponsorship assets are valued, structured, activated, and measured. Developed partnership strategies for Coca-Cola (Global Football, U.S. Soccer, Global Music, Global Gaming & Esports, NASCAR, NHL, MLB), as well as Goodyear and Blue Cross Blue Shield. Led the bidding and hosting strategy for South African Tourism and conducted fan engagement research for FIFA.
Extensive experience developing influencer strategies and creator partnerships across multiple brands, including Coca-Cola’s Influencer Center of Excellence, Meta, Guardant Health, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bayer, and AARP.
Previously led the sponsorship portfolio at Vodacom (Vodafone) across soccer, rugby, motorsport, golf, music, and lifestyle properties. Promoted international tours featuring Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, and helped activate the 2010 FIFA World Cup alongside Louis Vuitton, Pick n Pay, South African Tourism, and Maseca.
Additional work includes activating the International Cricket Council Player of the Year Awards, partnerships with Disney and Marvel across Africa, and launching Disney Junior and Disney XD in South Africa.
Outcomes for Growth
Partnership Architecture
Define the strategic role of partnerships, aligning brand ambition, commercial objectives, and audience behavior into focused growth platforms.
Identification Edge
Identify high-value assets and negotiate from strength, structuring partnerships with clear valuation, leverage, and measurable performance expectations.
Activation Discipline
Activate partnerships with disciplined integration across brand, social, and licensing driving sustained impact, accountability, and commercial return.
How It Works
01
Diagnose the Growth Mandate
Clarify commercial objectives, brand ambition, geographic priorities, and internal capability. Partnerships must serve strategy, not the other way around.
02
Define the Partnership Role
Determine what partnerships should solve: reach, relevance, distribution, credibility, behavior shift, revenue, or market entry. Establish clear success and evaluation criteria.
03
Landscape & Asset Mapping
Audit current partnerships and map the global opportunity landscape: rights holders, talent, platforms, leagues, entertainment properties, and cultural ecosystems.
04
Valuation & Negotiation Strategy
Build commercial models, define leverage points, structure deal terms, performance KPIs, governance, and activation rights before entering negotiation.
05
Activation Architecture
Design cross-functional activation frameworks, integrating brand, social, content, talent, internal teams, and measurement systems.
06
Measurement & Optimization
Track performance against predefined criteria. Optimize activation, renegotiate leverage points, and evolve the portfolio for sustained competitive advantage.