Whoop, the wearable member-based fitness tracker and health platform, named Dirk-Jan van Hameren as chief marketing officer. Hameren was at Nike for 32 years, rising to the role of global chief marketing officer. He is also a two-time Olympian.
The appointment comes as Whoop reported it “recently surpassed three million members worldwide after adding its latest one million members in the last seven months.”
The Boston-based firm also reported that “international membership has grown more than 11x since January 2023, and today 58 percent of members live outside the United States.” It also noted that Whoop’s audience is broadening, “with teen membership growing more than 10x since January 2023, women’s membership more than doubling over the past year and membership among adults over 60 increasing more than 130 percent year-over-year.”
“The next great health company will do more than deliver breakthrough technology,” said Will Ahmed, founder and CEO of Whoop. “It will also inspire people to take control of their health every day. DJ has spent his career building brands that shape culture and motivate millions of people, and I’m excited for him to bring that experience to Whoop.”
At Whoop, van Hameren will lead global marketing across brand, creative, international markets, media, athlete and sports partnerships, and product storytelling.
“What attracted me to Whoop was the scale and importance of the opportunity,” said van Hameren. “The company has earned extraordinary credibility with elite athletes and built an incredibly engaged, global community of more than three million members. But I believe we’re still at the very beginning. Proactive health will become one of the defining categories of our generation. Whoop will build the global brand that defines it.”
Van Hameren was at Nike from June 1991 to September 2024, beginning his career in the mailroom at the company’s European headquarters in the Netherlands. He was EVP, chief marketing officer for about six years from January 2018 to December 2023. His last role at Nike was EVP the Olympics.
Before becoming Nike’s chief marketing officer, van Hameren served as global vice president and general manager of Nike Sportswear, where “he led $7 billion of Nike Sportswear revenue growth and helped drive the success of franchises including Air Max, Air Force 1, and Tech Fleece.” During his tenure at Nike, he also “led the ideation and execution of the Livestrong initiative, the ‘Dream Crazy’ campaign, and the company’s global marketing for the 2004, 2012 and 2024 Olympic Games.” Prior to his business career, van Hameren represented the Netherlands as a track cyclist at the 1992 Barcelona and 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.
After leaving Nike, he co-founded Superconnector Sports, launched his advisory firm, Mailroom Marathon 7 and serves as an operating advisor to Arctos Partners.
Images courtesy Whoop
