The Ironman Group, a Wanda Sports Group company, announced the addition of Ellen Newberg as the company’s new chief marketing officer.
Newberg brings nearly 20 years in the sports marketing and sales field, including eight years with Feld Entertainment and nine years in leadership roles with Professional Bull Riders (PBR), most recently as their CMO. Newberg will oversee the marketing of events for the world’s largest mass participation sports platform, including Ironman, Ironman 70.3, Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon Series and the Epic Series. Her functional responsibilities will include Event Marketing, Athlete Development Programs, Digital Platforms and Content Development.
“We are excited to add Ellen to our core leadership team,” said Matthieu Van Veen, Chief Revenue Officer for The Ironman Group. “Ellen has deep firsthand knowledge of our athletes and demonstrated years of success in sports and entertainment marketing. She is a proven leader and will be able to contribute immediately to the success of our events through event marketing and programs.”
Newberg has a unique set of qualifications to help her succeed in this role and will be responsible for overseeing the planning, development and execution of the organization’s marketing and advertising initiatives using market research, pricing, product marketing, marketing communications, advertising and public relations. She will also ensure that the organization’s message is distributed across all channels and to targeted audiences.
“This represents the ultimate opportunity to fuse two of my great passions: business, marketing in particular, and mass participation sports,” said Newberg. “I am a long-time runner and have competed in triathlons since the mid-2000’s. It’s a privilege to work for an organization that has the ability to improve individuals’ lives, unify disparate communities and cultures, and whose inherent belief is ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.”
During her time with PBR – the world’s premier bull riding organization that features more than 700 bull riders in more than 200 events annually – Newberg was responsible for defining and overseeing all aspects of Brand, Consumer, Content and Digital Marketing functions as well as local partnership activity. She developed, led and mentored a highly effective and efficient team of more than 50 marketing, PR, creative and sales professionals. During Newberg’s tenure, PBR saw ticket sales revenue increase 43 percent from 2015-18 while also averaging 1M+ viewers per broadcast, creating for a robust audience both in person and digitally. After seeing PBR’s U.S. fan base grow 15 percent from 2011-2017, Newberg was instrumental in 20+ PBR events setting attendance records for the sport in 2018 alone.
Prior to joining PBR, Newberg spent eight years with Feld Entertainment working in several roles in sales and market.
