Head of Commercial Sales

Strategic Commercial Sales Leadership

Define and lead the global commercial sales strategy, holding overall accountability for sustainable revenue growth across sponsorship, strategic partnerships, and new commercial opportunities. This role establishes the approach to market, sets commercial priorities and revenue targets, and builds a high-performing sales function capable of securing and growing high-value, multi-year partnerships. Combining strategic leadership with direct responsibility for major business development, the position involves personally originating and closing complex opportunities, representing the organization with C-suite decision-makers, and ensuring commercial propositions reflect the full value of global events, disciplines, audiences, and digital platforms.

Core Responsibilities

• Commercial Strategy & Revenue Leadership: Define and own the global commercial sales strategy, translating organizational priorities into a clear multi-year revenue plan. Set annual revenue targets, sector priorities, and market-development plans while leading the development of a diversified commercial portfolio. Advise senior leadership on commercial opportunities, investment priorities, and risks, while owning sales forecasting, pipeline quality, and commercial reporting.
• Business Development & Strategic Sales: Personally originate, develop, and close high-value, multi-year commercial agreements with global and regional brands. Build and maintain a strong qualified pipeline by leveraging established networks and creating new relationships with brands, agencies, and senior decision-makers. Lead senior-level pitches, presentations, and negotiations, taking responsibility for commercial terms and successful contract conclusion across strategic sectors including technology, AI, consumer electronics, financial services, travel, automotive, luxury, FMCG, health and wellness, and telecommunications.
• Commercial Proposition, Rights & Innovation: Direct the development of compelling, insight-led commercial propositions aligned with partner objectives. Establish pricing principles and lead rights valuation, packaging, and inventory management to maximize revenue while protecting long-term value. Identify and develop new commercial assets and revenue platforms across events, digital, content, data, licensing, hospitality, and fan engagement, ensuring proposals are commercially robust and operationally deliverable.
• Functional Leadership & Sales Excellence: Build and lead the commercial sales function, including employees, consultants, agencies, and other external sales resources. Create clear sales processes, governance, CRM discipline, and performance standards to support effective prioritization and execution. Allocate opportunities and resources effectively, coach colleagues, and foster a high-performance, accountable culture while managing relevant sales budgets and external resources.
• Senior Stakeholder & Partner Leadership: Represent the organization in senior-level discussions with global brands, agencies, rights holders, and event organizers. Build trusted C-suite relationships with prospective and existing partners, positioning the organization as an innovative and credible global partner. Provide senior oversight of the transition from sale to delivery, ensuring commitments are clear and effectively handed over to activation teams, while overseeing renewal strategy for priority partners.
• Cross-Functional & Organisational Leadership: Collaborate with marketing, communications, digital, events, broadcast, legal, and finance colleagues to create integrated, deliverable, and commercially sound solutions. Partner with leadership, Member Federations, and event organizers to identify and unlock commercial opportunities across global events and year-round properties, championing a commercially focused culture and improving organizational understanding of commercial rights.
• Market Intelligence, Governance & Performance: Monitor sponsorship trends, competitor activity, and market developments to identify opportunities and maintain a differentiated proposition. Provide clear monthly and quarterly reporting on revenue, pipeline, conversion, forecast accuracy, and key risks. Ensure sales activity and agreements comply with internal governance, legal requirements, and ethical standards, using data and post-deal evaluation to improve commercial decision-making and sales performance.

Expected Profile

Essential Qualifications

• At least 10 years’ progressive experience in sponsorship sales, commercial partnerships, rights-holder business development, or a comparable commercial discipline, including significant experience at senior leadership level.
• Proven accountability for ambitious annual revenue targets and a strong record of originating, negotiating, and closing high-value, multi-year international agreements.
• Demonstrated experience defining and delivering a commercial sales strategy across multiple markets, sectors, or properties.
• Experience leading and developing employees, consultants, agencies, or international sales resources, with the ability to create accountability and high performance.
• Established network of senior brand, agency, and commercial decision-makers, with the credibility to operate confidently at C-suite and board level.
• Strong understanding of rights valuation, pricing, packaging, commercial contracting, forecasting, and pipeline management.
• Exceptional negotiation, presentation, and influencing skills, together with sound judgement and the ability to navigate complex stakeholder environments.
• International outlook and experience working across cultures, with readiness to travel regularly for meetings, events, and industry engagements.
• Fluent English, with excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Desirable Qualifications

• Senior commercial experience within an international sports federation, rights holder, major sporting event, media, or entertainment organization.
• Experience developing new commercial assets and propositions across digital, content, data, licensing, hospitality, and experiential platforms.
• Existing senior relationships within one or more priority sectors, including technology, AI and innovation, financial services, automotive, travel, luxury, telecommunications, or FMCG.
• Knowledge of the Olympic Movement and the international sport ecosystem, including experience working with organizing committees, Member Federations, or major event organizers.
• Additional language skills, particularly French, are an asset.