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Tom Shepard Joins Partner Concepts as Chief Partnership Officer
ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND – September 3, 2009 – Tom Shepard, former EVP of Global Merchant Partnerships and Sponsorships at Visa International, and most recently CEO of Festival Network, has joined Partner Concepts, an innovative strategic marketing agency specializing in the representation of tourism boards, partnership marketing, offers promotion and event marketing.
“I am delighted to join such a talented and forward thinking organization” Shepard said. “The opportunity to leverage my experience in the partnership marketing, destination marketing, and sponsorship arenas on a global basis is a challenge I welcome.”
Shepard will assume the role of Chief Partnership Officer, based in San Francisco, and manage numerous partners and programs on behalf of Partner Concepts.
“Tom has long been considered one of the pioneers of partnership marketing and a leader in the event marketing field. His in-depth knowledge of strategic marketing has been showcased around the world,” said Paul Cohen, president of Partner Concepts. “We look forward to Tom bringing the same type of innovative thinking that grew the Olympic sponsorship for Visa from a 17-day experience around the Games to a comprehensive, multi-year marketing platform that is often cited as the premier example of integrated marketing programming.”
Tom brings more than 20 years of success leading ground-breaking brand and marketing initiatives and delivering multi-million dollar revenue growth, through strong leadership coupled with strategy creation and execution. Prior to joining Partner Concepts, Tom was CEO of the Festival Network, where he led the growth of the company’s network to be recognized as a leader in the outdoor music festival business. Prior to that, Tom spent more than 10 years at Visa International, where he pioneered the business of partnership marketing with merchants across all industries, as well as negotiating and leading some of the company’s most visible global sponsorships (including the Olympics and FIFA) and leveraging the Visa network via relationship management, advertising, marketing, promotions and PR. Prior to that, Tom served as EVP and Partner at Millsport, where he developed and managed event marketing programs for clients including Visa, American Airlines, Bank of America, Doubletree Hotels, and Apple.
Tom has received numerous awards over the years, including the 2008 Tourism Industry Leadership Award from the Niagara University College of Hospitality & Tourism Management and the 1998 International Partnership Marketer of the Year by SME International. In 2004, Sports Business Journal named Tom the 5th most influential in the Olympic movement. Tom is a guest lecturer at Stanford University and serves on the boards of the STEP Foundation (Sustainable Tourism for the Elimination of Poverty), Global Wines, and the SCA (Student Conservation Association). Tom is a graduate of the University of Connecticut.
Partner Concepts LLC (www.partnerconcepts.com) is a full-service strategic marketing firm headquartered just outside of Washington, D.C. with offices in Southern California, San Francisco, Shanghai, Beijing, Hanoi and Bangkok. Partner Concepts develops custom integrated marketing programs for destinations and Fortune 500 companies around the world. For more information about Partner Concepts, contact Paul Cohen, email: paul@partnerconcepts.com or John Riggin, email: john@partnerconcepts.com, telephone 410-224-7688.
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