Elevate Sports promotes Doss to lead international business

Elevate Sports Ventures, the sports and entertainment agency, has promoted experienced industry veteran Shawn Doss to chief business officer of its international operations.

Reporting to Elevate president Chip Bowers, Doss will be responsible for leading business development and serving as the lead liaison for the agency’s roster of international clients.

He will be Elevate’s foremost senior executive located in the UK overseeing partnerships in Europe.

Doss will establish the agency’s London-based, international executive team, including recently appointed Elevate senior vice president and head of UK business development Shaun Graham.

The firm presently has tie-ups with four European soccer clubs - three in the English Premier League and one in Spain’s LaLiga.

Elevate also currently represents the future international business rights in the UK for the San Francisco 49ers, of American football's NFL.

It works with teams and leagues in areas including ticket sales, hospitality, marketing, and event management, as well as venue naming rights, kit supply, and shirt sponsorship deals.

Doss is a founding member of the Elevate senior leadership team and has spent almost four and a half years at the company.

He initially served as an advisor to chief executive Al Guido in his first role with the company but has spent the last three years as executive vice-president of sales and marketing.

Since 2017, Doss has also been a consultant to Guido in his role as president of the 49ers.

Across a 15-year career in the sports industry, Doss previously had stints with premium experiences company Legends, NHL franchises the New Jersey Devils and Arizona Coyotes, and the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks.

Bowers said: “Given the considerable client and partner growth and demand Elevate has experienced in our global business division, this is the natural time to appoint a seasoned, executive to service our ever-growing roster of international clients; as well as build and lead our global business strategy.

“As a founding member of our Elevate executive team, Shawn has tremendous experience and an appreciation for the diverse, impactful and dynamic range of revenue-driving capabilities, partnerships, technologies, proprietary insights, and more our agency is equipped to deliver to our current and future global clients.”

Doss added: “This is an opportune time for international sports brands, teams, leagues, venue owners, event operators and rightsholders to re-examine, reimagine and realign their optimal mode of business strategy, revenue generation, and operations.

“On behalf of Elevate, I am proud to deliver insights and revenue-driving solutions to our current and future international clients; as well as build out a London-based senior executive team to service the global sports and entertainment ecosystem with the processes, technologies, insights, partnerships and operational efficiencies to drive return on investment and objectives.”

The agency, which is based in Santa Clara in California, launched in 2018 as a joint venture of the 49ers, Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment (which owns teams and venues including the Devils and the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers), Ticketmaster, Live Nation, and Oak View Group.

Last week, Arctos Sports Partners, the US private equity firm, announced a strategic investment into Elevate to join its ownership group.