VP Sales - Brands Direct

By bringing together next-gen technology and the finest live data available, Genius Sports is enabling a new era of sports for fans worldwide, delivering experiences that are more immersive, interactive and personalised than ever before. Our Advertising Solutions team turns the live signals of sport; goals, momentum shifts, win-probability swings, surprise factor, into addressable, brand-safe moments that advertisers can target across CTV, social, web, audio, and DOOH. We sit at the intersection of premium sports inventory, real-time data, and programmatic media. We are hiring a Vice President of Sales to build and lead our Brands Direct business.

Responsibilities

Own and grow brand-direct revenue; Own and exceed the Brands Direct revenue number, net-new and expansion across brands that buy media in-house and across our share of the largest 100 brand advertisers; Personally lead the most strategic brand-direct deals, discovery, ideation, pitch, negotiation, and contracting at the CMO / Head of Media level; Build the segmentation: which brands are pure in-house, which are agency-led, which are hybrid, and how Genius shows up for each; Translate our Moments framework; Pre-Game anticipation, Real-Time In-Game, Post-Game sentiment, into brand-side narratives anchored on audience, outcomes, brand lift, and creative effectiveness; Coordinate with the agency sales team on the top 100 brands; Partner with the holding-company and agency sales VPs (WPP, Omnicom, Publicis, Dentsu, and independents) to drive a coordinated motion against the largest 100 brand advertisers; Co-own joint account plans for the top 100 brands: clear ownership of brand-side relationships, collaborating on joint pitches and joint commercial proposals; Serve as the brand-side voice in pricing, packaging, and creative discussions, making sure our offer lands with marketers, not just media buyers; Run a tight cross-team operating cadence with the agency VPs so handoffs are clean, credit is shared, and the customer experience is seamless; Lead and operate the team; Hire, coach, and retain a high-performing team of Brand Account Reps, each owning a category cut or a defined named-brand book; Set the standard for prospecting rigor, pitch quality, account planning, and forecast discipline; Run a tight weekly operating cadence: pipeline reviews, account reviews, deal inspection, forecast calls, and 1:1 coaching grounded in deal data; Operate the CRM and forecast as a discipline, not a chore; deliver a forecast leadership can trust within ±10%; Partner cross-functionally with Marketing on brand-side demand generation, Product on brand and creative feedback, Insights on case studies, and Ad Ops on flawless campaign execution; Represent Genius Sports at brand-attended industry events; Cannes Lions, Possible, ANA Masters of Marketing, Advertising Week, IAB ALM and at brand-side innovation and upfront moments

Requirements

10+ years selling advertising, ad-tech, or media to brand advertisers, with at least 3 years in a sales leadership role carrying a team number; Demonstrable success selling directly into brand-side marketing organizations — CMOs, Heads of Media, Heads of In-House Media, Heads of Programmatic, Brand Investment Leads; Track record of personally closing seven-figure annual brand-direct deals and of developing reps who do the same; Strong, current relationships across the top 100 brand advertisers in key categories (CPG, QSR, auto, financial services, telco, retail, travel, entertainment); Proven ability to coordinate with agency sales teams on joint pursuits — clear ownership, shared credit, no client friction; Deep fluency in the modern media stack: CTV, programmatic, social, addressable, attention/measurement, and the brand-side P&L; Comfort selling complex, data-driven products — you can make signal-based, moment-based advertising feel simple to a CMO with 11 other meetings that day; Operating discipline: forecast accuracy, CRM hygiene (HubSpot or Salesforce), pipeline management, and a real point of view on brand-side sales process; Experience selling DSPs and/or Programmatic Managed Services; Ability to come into the office (Chelsea Piers) at a minimum of 4 days a week

Nice to have

Experience selling sports media, sports data, or fan-engagement products directly to brand advertisers; Background in CTV, programmatic, or attention/outcomes-based media sales to brand-side buyers; Experience running a coordinated brand-and-agency sales motion alongside a holdco or agency sales organization

Benefits

Additional variable compensation; Benefits plan; Competitive salary; Range of benefits; Support for employee wellbeing; Help grow your skills, experience and career