While the Dodgers were enjoying a rare but welcomed day off on Monday, the front office remained hard at work with the appointment of professional sports veteran Michael Wandell as Senior Vice President, Corporate Sponsorships.

Wandell, who has 15 years of experience in pro sports, joins the Dodgers after overseeing all International Business Development for the NBA the past 3 years, focusing on large-scale global platforms across China, Asia, India, Africa, Europe, South America, Mexico and Canada.

“We are truly excited to have Michael Wandell join our team,” said Lon Rosen, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. “The Dodgers are a global brand and the experience and relationships Wandell has developed internationally as well as domestically will continue to enhance our growth worldwide.”

“I’m honored to be joining one of the greatest organizations and brands in all of professional sports,” said Wandell. “I’m looking forward to working with our incredible partners and creating new opportunities for additional world-class brands to join the Dodger family.”

Michael Wandell
(Image courtesy of The News Gazette)

Wandell’s experience has been at both the team and league levels and has involved business development, integrated marketing, media sales, contract negotiation, research, measurement and personnel management.  His professional career has seen him contract more than $1 billion in total sponsorship revenue.

Wandell led the negotiations on the groundbreaking global partnership that made Tissot the first official timekeeper of the NBA, WNBA, and NBA G-League.

Prior to his time at NBA headquarters, Wandell oversaw all Business Development for NBA China living in Beijing and Shanghai.  During his time in China, Wandell welcomed multiple marketing partners and sold the first-ever Presenting Partner of the NBA China Games to ZTE. With extensive media experience Wandell was also instrumental in growing NBA China’s annual media sales efforts across CCTV, Sina and Tencent among others.

Before joining the league, Wandell was the Senior Vice President of Marketing Partnerships for the Charlotte Bobcats, overseeing all sales and service of the department. During his tenure in Charlotte, he generated more than $55 million in total contract value and sold the first-ever “Level 23” platform; a fully-integrated marketing partnership incorporating Michael Jordan as a spokesperson.

Wandell also spent time in professional sports marketing and sales with the Phoenix Suns and Indiana Pacers. In Phoenix, he signed LifeLock to a groundbreaking partnership that featured the first advertising space on WNBA uniforms. The multi-year, seven-figure jersey deal was the largest sale in the 13-year history of the WNBA. Wandell also sold the naming rights to the first-ever modern outdoor NBA game, the AutoTrader.com Open, in Indian Wells, CA.

A native of Champaign, IL, Wandell graduated from Northwestern University with a B.A. in History. Prior to his career in professional sports he lived in Los Angeles and worked in the new media space overseeing all music content for MXG Media.

(Article courtesy of Dodgers PR Department)