Fanatics, the digital sports platform and e-commerce company, has today named Stephen Dowling as president of international for its commerce division.
In the newly created role, he will be responsible for continuing the growth of the Fanatics Commerce business outside of North America and will report to chief executive (CEO) Andrew Low Ah Kee.
Dowling, who will be based out of Fanatics’ Manchester, UK office, joins from German sportswear giant adidas, where he spent six years, most recently as senior vice president for digital growth.
Prior to this, he spent 10 years at Unilever, where he set up and led its direct-to-consumer e-commerce offering.
Fanatics Commerce has additionally announced two further appointments to strengthen its senior leadership team.
Valerie Love has joined from soft drink giant Coca-Cola and will become chief people officer, where she will be responsible for all strategic human resources initiatives for the business.
Justin Tsai has joined the company from private equity firm Silver Lake in the newly created role of chief product officer and will lead Fanatics Commerce’s overall approach to consumer product management.
Both Love and Tsai will report to Low Ah Kee, who was appointed as CEO in September to replace Doug Mack.
Low Ah Kee said: “I am thrilled to welcome Stephen, Valerie and Justin all of whom will play an invaluable role as we work toward elevating the experience of being a fan across all corners of the world.
“We have an established international business that serves millions of fans worldwide and as our new president of international, Stephen brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in leading and growing digital businesses, which will be beneficial for our partners and fans as we move forward into our next chapter.
“I’m confident that under Stephen’s leadership, our international business will significantly advance its global capabilities and improve the experience for the millions of sports fans that shop with us across the world every year.”
Dowling added: “I have long admired Fanatics and the opportunity to drive true impact across the international business is incredibly exciting.
“From the moment that I met with Andrew and his team, I could see the passion that they have for sport and their desire to improve the way in which fans can access their favorite team merchandise, no matter where they are in the world.”
In May, Fanatics appointed Krishna Rao as the new chief financial officer of its commerce business.
Fanatics Commerce is the company’s largest business and designs, manufactures, and sells licensed fan gear, jerseys, lifestyle, and streetwear products, as well as headwear and non-apparel hard goods.
Fanatics’ international presence has grown significantly in recent years, with the company now operating more than 80 offices.
The firm has partnerships with more than 900 major sporting organizations around the world, including European soccer clubs Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan, Inter, and Atletico Madrid, UEFA, the English Football Association, the International Olympic Committee, NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and Formula 1.
