SailGP appoints ex Nike & Adidas director as new marketing chief

SailGP has appointed Erica Kerner as chief marketing and communications officer, with a key focus of the role centring on growing SailGP’s global audience and continuing to build on its relationships with global distribution and broadcast partners as the league moves from Season 2 to 3, starting May 2022.

Kerner was previously SVP, head of marketing strategy & partnerships at ONE Championship – Asia’s largest sports media property. Prior to this, Kerner worked as vice president of marketing and communications for Tiffany & Co. Asia Pacific, and worked for Adidas as global director of the brand’s 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games programmes, responsible for all aspects of the company’s marketing, sponsorship, licensing and business development activities. Kerner was also previously Nike’s first head of marketing for China and later a key member of its Asia Pacific and global retail marketing teams.

Kerner says: “It’s exciting to be joining SailGP at this moment of enviable expansion for the championship, and I look forward to continuing to grow our dedicated fanbase through compelling storytelling about this adrenaline-filled sport. I’m also passionately committed to the league’s mission to be the world’s most sustainable sports property, and will be actively promoting and enhancing our various impact projects and initiatives to ensure we are always embracing our purpose to race for the future.”

“At a time of rapid expansion and aggressive growth we welcome Erica to our leadership team at SailGP,” says SailGP CEO, Russell Coutts. “Her experience working at the biggest sporting events in the world and across some international leading brands has her perfectly placed to join the league at a time when it is establishing itself as one of the fastest growing properties in the international sporting calendar.”

The global championship will welcome two new franchise teams for its recently announced third season, with Canada and Switzerland set to expand SailGP’s reach to new audiences. They join teams from Australia, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Japan, New Zealand, Spain and the United States.

Season 2 concludes with the Mubadala United States Sail Grand Prix in San Francisco on 26 and 27 March. Season 3 commences 14-15 May with the Bermuda Sail Grand Prix presented by Hamilton Princess.

All images courtesy of SailGP.