Sports and gaming media agency SBC announced it has established a new division, Sports Sponsorship, and appointed George Harborne as Director of Sports Sponsorship.
Relations with Industry Stakeholders
Harborne will be responsible for building the new division within SBC by focusing on the connections and relations with sports clubs, associations, as well as betting and gaming industry stakeholders, seeking to assist in customer acquisition, activation and strategic development.
“I am excited to bring my experience helping companies achieve their sponsorship and revenue goals to SBC,” Harborne commented, outlining that he was highly motivated to accept the role by “the company’s commitment to developing meaningful business connections within the iGaming and sports betting industry,” as well as its roster of “unrivaled relationships … in this space.”
“I cannot wait to help the team deliver even more value for our clients through this new offering,” he concluded.
In his new role as Director of Sports Sponsorship, Harborne, who has over a decade of sports industry experience under his belt, will be reporting directly to Chief Executive Officer and Founder Rasmus Sojmark.
“We are delighted to welcome George to the team,” Sojmark commented, highlighting Harborne’s credentials and suitability for the role.
‘Accomplished Sports Business Executive’
“He is an accomplished sports business executive skilled in negotiating partnerships and overseeing their development and activation,” Sojmark said, emphasizing Harborne as the right person to lead SBC’s “efforts to find and connect with sponsors and buyers” from the gaming industry.
Harborne’s resume features senior roles across rugby and soccer clubs, including Commercial Director at professional rugby club Salford Red Devils, Senior Manager in the Betting Category at international sports marketing agency SPORTFIVE, Head of Partner Acquisition and Partner Services for English Premier League (EPL) club Aston Villa, Head of Partnerships and Interim Head of Sales at West Bromwich Albion FC, and Senior Partnership Sales Executive at Derby County FC.
His latest role prior to joining SBC was as Director at Yellow Sports Marketing.
“George is a fantastic addition to our team,” said SBC Chief Operating Officer, David Knight, underlining that “his knowledge of sports sponsorships will help SBC’s friends and clients build a lasting rapport with sports teams across the world and add an incremental revenue stream for our business.”
As part of his responsibilities, Harborne will also have to deliver tailored content to audiences during SBC’s leading events, including SBC Summit North America (New Jersey, 9-11 May), CasinoBeats Summit (Malta, 23-25 May), Canadian Gaming Summit (Toronto, 13-15 June), SBC Summit Barcelona (Barcelona, 19-21 September), and SBC Summit Latinoamérica (November 2023).