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Grace Blue Partnership Launches Sports Division Headed Up by New Partner Eric Guthoff

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We are pleased to announce that our Global Strategic Partner, Grace Blue, global executive search and M&A advisory firm, has expanded into the sports industry to target leadership at sports agencies, teams, venues, and leagues, as well as eSports, media, and technology companies.

Flock announced a Global Strategic Partnership with Grace Blue in 2017. Grace Blue is the leading media, marketing, and creative communications search and advisory firm offering executive search services to marketers, agencies, and media owners. Flock has been working with Grace Blue to help our clients find talent to populate the marketing structures that we’ve helped to create. The partnership also allows Grace Blue to equip the talent they place in marketing organisations with effective transformation plans.

The launch of the new sports division comes as Eric Guthoff joins Grace Blue as Partner. With a wealth of experience as a seasoned entrepreneur and sports marketer, Guthoff is an industry veteran, having most recently led GlideSlope, a global sports advisory firm he co-founded in 2010.

New roles across the sports industry are being created in areas where Grace Blue has a strong history of expertise such as, digital, content production, e-commerce, analytics, data utilisation, influencer marketing, and technology strategy. Grace Blue will bring its specialist experience and broad network to help organisations to recruit talent now, as well as supporting organisations to proactively plan for future recruitment needs.

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, the North American sports industry alone is projected to grow to over $78 billion by 2021. This growth is increasingly driven by the fan experience, which allows patrons to control how they consume content both in and out of the stadium. Grace Blue believe that to capitalise on this growth, organisations must diversify talent to expand their core capabilities.

“There is an incredible convergence in the world of sports, media, and technology right now. Grace Blue will help sports marketers proactively recruit transformative leadership talent and acquire the companies that will keep them ahead of the evolving landscape,” said Claire Telling, co-CEO of Grace Blue. “We are also thrilled to welcome Eric to lead our expansion into such an exciting and innovative sector. His background, combined with our reach into forward-thinking agencies, consultancies, and Silicon Valley, will be a powerful solution for sports marketers.”

“I joined Grace Blue because they have the know-how and capabilities to prepare the industry I’m passionate about in an evolving market,” said Guthoff. “Talent is the bridge that will take sports organizations into the future, but the current pool lacks diversity and often falls short in areas such as digital marketing, data utilization, and content strategy—all critical to growth in this new world.”

About Grace Blue

The Grace Blue Partnership is a global executive search and M&A advisory firm with a focus on the marketing, media, and digital space. Leaders in their category, they are driven by their mission to future-proof their clients’ businesses, combining global reach and insight with deep local expertise. With offices in New York, London, Singapore, and Shanghai, the Grace Blue team are all experts in their sectors – with many of the senior team having held executive level positions in marketing and media businesses themselves. Clients include RSA Films, Spotify, IPG, DDB, LEGO, Dentsu Aegis Network, Mother, Havas, Coca-Cola, and R/GA. For more information, visit www.graceblue.com.

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