The IRONMAN Group Tabs Yanni Andreopoulos as Executive Vice President of Gloabal Partnerships
October 15, 2024
- Andreopoulos to lead and oversee all aspects of the Global Partnerships business including sales, business intelligence, partnership management and activations, in addition to content distribution - With 20 years in the sports industry and strong commercial and operating skills, Andreopoulos has experience leading global organizations and groundbreaking startups from AEG, Formula E, FIM E-Xplorer and E1 World Electric Raceboat Series
TAMPA, Fla. /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – The IRONMAN Group is pleased to add Yanni Andreopoulos as Executive Vice President of Global Partnerships. With strong commercial and operating skills, Andreopoulos will lead and oversee all aspects of the Global Partnerships business, including sales, business intelligence, partnership management and activations, in addition to content distribution. Developing unique skills throughout his 20 years in the sports industry from global organizations to groundbreaking startups, Andreopoulos has strong experience in building and managing teams, securing partnerships, and delivering growth for sporting organizations.
Andreopoulos joins The IRONMAN Group after successful leadership positions at ABB FIA Formula E where he oversaw the commercial division (sponsorship, partnerships, ticketing, hospitality and licensing) and AEG, where he managed NBA, NHL, ATP, UFC and Euroleague Basketball events at AEG venues in Europe as well as the AMGEN Tour of California. Yanni was a partner at Icarus Sports, growing and developing the production and distribution agency, and co-founded the FIM E-Xplorer and E1 World Electric Raceboat Series for which he secured funding, recruited management teams, negotiated founding partnerships and host venue agreements.
Andreopoulos has a deep understanding of sports properties that people love and the power of highly engaged communities in which people are deeply passionate about their sport. He will lead the Global Partnerships team in developing partnerships with brands across a wide variety of products, services, and experiences that ultimately inspire and enable endurance athletes to embark on life-changing experiences and achieve their greatest ambitions in life. He will also lead the team in continuing to innovate the athlete experiences, working with partners to create state-of-the-art activations both digitally and at events.
With a robust offering of content franchises that go into the depths of the athlete like the newly launched “AN IRON WILL” docuseries and live programming surrounding the highly successful IRONMAN® Pro Series, Andreopoulos will also be tasked in further growing global distribution of The IRONMAN Group media properties, bringing fans from around the world closer to the top echelon of endurance sports programming.
“Yanni is well known across the sporting industry, is highly experienced, and will be a significant contributor to our organization and senior leadership team,” said Matthieu van Veen, Chief Business Officer for The IRONMAN Group. “Yanni brings true global leadership working with multinational and cross-functional teams towards growing international sports properties, with a particular emphasis on forging powerful partnerships and leading innovative strategies for positive change that will connect and benefit our global community of athletes and partners.”
Andreopoulos has an MBA in Sports Business from the W.P. Carey School of Business at ASU and a law degree from Cambridge University. He practiced law at Freshfields for five years as a finance associate before moving into the sports industry.. He lives in London with his wife and their two children and will be based out of the London office.
For more information on The IRONMAN Group and global event series, visit www.ironman.com/about-ironman-group. Media related inquiries may be directed to press@ironman.com.
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About The IRONMAN Group
The IRONMAN Group operates a global portfolio of events that includes the IRONMAN® Triathlon Series, the IRONMAN® 70.3® Triathlon Series, 5150™ Triathlon Series, the Rock ‘n’ Roll® Running Series, IRONKIDS®, World Triathlon Championship Series, premier running events including the Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon™ and City2Surf®, UTMB® World Series trail-running events including the Canyons Endurance Runs™ by UTMB®, Tarawera Ultra-Trail™ by UTMB® and Ultra-Trail Australia™ by UTMB®, Epic Series™ mountain bike races including the Absa Cape Epic®, road cycling events, and other multisport races. The IRONMAN Group is the largest operator of mass participation sports in the world, providing participants the benefits of endurance sports through the company’s vast offerings. Catering to the full athlete experience, the company portfolio also includes FulGaz® virtual cycling, the most realistic indoor riding experience connected fitness application aimed at preparing athletes for real-world events. Since the inception of the iconic IRONMAN® brand and its first event in 1978, athletes have proven that ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE® by crossing finish lines around the world. Beginning as a single race, The IRONMAN Group has grown to become a global sensation with hundreds of events across 55+ countries. The IRONMAN Group is owned by Advance, a private, family-owned business, and Orkila Capital, a growth equity firm focused on building great brands. For more information, visit www.ironman.com/about-ironman-group.
About Advance
Advance is a private, family-held business that owns and invests in companies across media, entertainment, technology, communications, education and other promising growth sectors. Our mission is to build the value of our companies over the long-term by fostering growth and innovation. Advance’s portfolio includes Condé Nast, Advance Local, Stage Entertainment, The IRONMAN Group, American City Business Journals, Leaders Group, Turnitin, and Pop. Together these operating companies employ more than 14,000 people in 29 countries. Advance is also among the largest shareholders in Charter Communications, Warner Bros. Discovery and Reddit. For more information visit www.advance.com.