#140 Brad Ross - VP Global Sports & Entertainment Marketing and Partnerships, The Coca-Cola Company

Welcome to episode 140 of Sports Management Podcast.

Brad Ross is the VP Global Sports & Entertainment Marketing and Partnerships at The Coca-Cola Company. Brad started at Coca-Cola in 2007. He moved to Google for two years between 2019 and 2021 and then boomeranged back to Coca-Cola. He is born and raised in South Africa, but is currently living in Atlanta, where Coca-Cola has its global headquarters. Sport has always been a fundamental part of his life and shaped many foundational memories for him growing up.

In this episode we spoke about:

• Why Marketing is a team sport
• Coca-Cola?s 100 year partnership with IOC
• Their new partnership with the International Cricket Council, ICC
• How Coca-Cola prepares for Paris24, FIFA World Cup 2026, LA28 and more
• How his upbringing in South Africa shaped him
• Africa as a sport continent on the rise
• Brad?s memories from FIFA World Cup 2010 in South Africa

And much more!

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/7h_vaj9rTsQ?

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro
01:41 Marketing Is a Team Sport?
02:25 Sports Marketing and Partnerships at Coca-Cola?
05:32 Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games?
13:35 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa
16:47 Brad's Upbringing In South Africa?
17:51 Africa's Potential with Sports?
21:10 FIFA World Cup 2026?
24:43 Working Multiple Mega Events Simultaneously
27:09 Partnership With International Cricket Council?
28:19 Ideal Length of a Partnership?
30:34 How Brad's Interest For Sport Started?
34:05 Learnings From Sport to Business
37:46 Coca-Cola Is a Great Place to Work?
40:51 Bumps On The Road?
42:42 Brad's Best Advice?
44:12 Outro

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