Worldlink hires ex-Champions League marketing chief
Stephen Pearson hired to work on the launch of Worldlink's betting app, built in partnership with BetButler.
Mobile data provider Worldlink has announced the appointment of former UEFA Champions League marketing director Stephen Pearson as chief marketing officer of its sports and gaming division Worldlink Sports Limited.
Pearson served as marketing director for TEAM Marketing AG, UEFA’s official marketing partners for the Champions League, from June 1993 to December 1997, where he was responsible for negotiating Playstation’s £30m annual sponsorship deal of the tournament. He then spent just under 18 months as the first-ever commercial director of England’s Premier League where he oversaw shirt sponsorship deals between the likes of Arsenal and Sega Dreamcast and Tottenham Hotspur and egaming operator Mansion.
He has also previously worked as a consultant for a number of egaming operators including PartyGaming and DoylesRoom before setting up sports marketing agency Sports Media Gaming in 2003.
As CMO of Worldlink Sports Pearson will be responsible for developing the marketing strategy for the company’s betting application, developed in partnership with BetButler, and aim to establish partnerships with a range of sporting rights holders.
Commenting on Pearson’s appointment Worldlink managing director Neil Riches said: “I am absolutely delighted we have attracted a highly respected executive with such an exceptional background as our chief marketing officer.
“Stephen Pearson brings a very unique combination of skills and hands on expertise in the international sports marketing and gaming industries backed up by solid media credentials, qualities that are highly relevant to our expanding business in these sectors,” Riches explained.
Worldlink has also signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with Group Partouche’s egaming subsidiary Partouche Interactive Gibraltar, which sees the operator become Worldlink’s official gaming partner.