The IRONMAN Group has confirmed Yanni Andreopoulos as Executive Vice President of Global Partnerships.
In a release the international event organiser noted… ‘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 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.
Andreopoulos 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.
IRONMAN adds that 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. He will also lead the team in innovating athlete experiences, working with partners to create activations both digitally and at events.
With a diverse offering of content franchises that aim to go into the depths of the athlete experience, such as the newly launched ‘AN IRON WILL’ docuseries, and live programming surrounding the IRONMAN Pro Series, Andreopoulos will also be tasked in further growing global distribution of The IRONMAN Group media properties.
“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 IRONMAN’s London office.
