Fanatics Commerce, a designer, manufacturer, and seller of fan gear and part of global digital sports platform Fanatics, has appointed Stephen Dowling to the newly created role of president of international.
Stephen will be responsible for continuing the growth of the Fanatics Commerce business outside of North America and will report into Fanatics Commerce CEO, Andrew Low Ah Kee.
Dowling, who will be based out of Fanatics’ Manchester office, joins from Adidas, where he spent six years leading and growing its direct-to-consumer digital business. Prior to this, Stephen spent ten years at Unilever, where he set up and led its direct-to-consumer eCommerce offering.
Fanatics Commerce has also announced two further appointments to strengthen its Senior Leadership Team. Valerie Love has joined from The Coca-Cola Company and will become Fanatics Commerce chief people officer, where she will be responsible for all strategic human resources initiatives for the business.
Justin Tsai has joined the company from Silver Lake in the newly created role of chief product officer and will lead Fanatics Commerce’s overall approach to consumer product management. Both Valerie and Justin will report into Fanatics Commerce CEO, Andrew Low Ah Kee.
Commenting on the appointments Fanatics Commerce CEO Low Ah Kee said: “I am thrilled to welcome Stephen, Valerie and Justin all of whom will play an invaluable role as we work toward elevating the experience of being a fan across all corners of the world.”
“We have an established international business that serves millions of fans worldwide and as our new president of international, Stephen brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in leading and growing digital businesses, which will be beneficial for our partners and fans as we move forward into our next chapter. I’m confident that under Stephen’s leadership our international business will significantly advance its global capabilities and improve the experience for the millions of sports fans that shop with us across the world every year.”
Fanatics’ international presence has grown significantly in recent years, with the company now operating more than eighty offices, manufacturing facilities and fulfilment centres across the world. It partners with more than 900 of the largest sporting organisations in the world, including Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan, Inter, Atletico Madrid, UEFA, International Olympic Committee, Tokyo Giants, The FA, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB and Formula 1.
“I have long admired Fanatics and the opportunity to drive true impact across the international business is incredibly exciting,” said Dowling. “From the moment that I met with Andrew and his team, I could see the passion that they have for sport and their desire to improve the way in which fans can access their favourite team merchandise, no matter where they are in the world. I’m looking forward to being part of the team and I can’t wait to get started.”
