The top level of the Washington Commanders’ new sponsorship team is in place after three hires in recent weeks by new Chief Partnerships Officer Jim Rushton. As Rushton told SBJ Football in March, he wanted his own people leading business development, solutions (strategy) and success (customer/activation). Two are local, brought over from Monumental Sports & Entertainment, and a third comes from MSG.
The trio includes:
- VP/Partnership Development Erik Leibovitz, who spent the last nine years with Monumental, including the last five as VP/global partnerships and business development.
- VP/Partnership Solutions Lauren Greenfield, who spent five years at Monumental, including most of the last three years as VP/global partnership strategy and development.
- VP/Partnership Success Andrew Berkowitz, who will head down I-95 from New York, where he’s been with MSG Entertainment for 13 years, including the last 10 months as senior director/global partnerships.
This new team comes together as the Commanders search for a new president to replace Jason Wright, who is now an adviser and will leave the team by the end of the season. They’re now hiring directors and managers to work below Leibovitz, Greenfield and Berkowitz.
The team’s sponsorship portfolio bottomed out in the final months of the Dan Snyder regime, but it bounced back with 12 new deals in the immediate aftermath of Josh Harris buying the team. However, naming rights for the stadium are available, as are plenty of other assets and categories.
