CSM Sport and Entertainment, a global partnerships, integrated marketing and brand experience firm, announced a leadership transition in its North American operations. Current CSM North America CEO Dan Mannix is transitioning from his current role into a senior advisor role. Christa Carone, currently president of CSM NA, will assume Mannix’s role as leader of North America.
Mannix founded LeadDog Marketing Group in 1999 and, in collaboration with his partners, led the firm through many years of growth while building a reputation for creating significant value for its clients. LeadDog was named Sports Experiential Agency of the year by Sports Business Journal in 2016 and was acquired by CSM Sport and Entertainment later that year. Mannix then assumed the CSM NA CEO role in May 2018, driving the successful growth and integration of CSM’s North American acquisitions in sponsorship strategy and consulting as well as rights management and production services.
“From founding LeadDog 21 years ago to collaborating with an incredible team across the CSM global network, I’ve been fortunate to be part of the inspirational and creative world of sports and entertainment marketing,” said Mannix. “I am excited to continue to play a role with CSM, with an emphasis on a few of our key clients and putting energies toward building new strategic brand partnerships for the firm.
“I also look forward to freeing up more time for my personal passions, starting with my amazing family and bringing focused energy to the True Colors Leadership Foundation, a non-profit I created two years ago to increase minority representation within the sports business. Now more than ever, creative solutions are needed to change the face of our industry.
“The people of CSM consistently inspire me with their resiliency, creativity, passion and service mindset,” he added. “Tapping into Christa’s extensive experience as a chief marketing officer and digital media leader, CSM North America is even more well positioned to effectively lead clients and our partners through new economic realities in the constantly changing sports, media and entertainment marketplace.”
Christa Carone joined CSM as president of North America in January, following her leadership role as president of Group Nine Media, and prior client-side marketing leadership positions as head of brand marketing and communications at Fidelity Investments and chief marketing officer of Xerox Corporation. In leading North America for CSM, she joins the executive board of CSM’s global operations and is responsible for the collective success of CSM’s North American businesses including partnerships for rights holders; sponsorship strategies for brands; virtual and in-person consumer experiences; production services; and professional and youth sports leagues’ marketing and management.
“I joined CSM earlier this year to be part of connecting brands with opportunities that rally consumers around passion points,” she said. “And, I’m inspired by the ingenuity our people bring every day to ensure that sport and entertainment continue to be unifying forces in our world. I’m proud to be leading the team that is driving important campaigns and collaborations that give us all something to cheer about.”
CSM Group CEO, Matt Vandrau, added, “The value of Dan Mannix’s contributions to our business and to the overall industry cannot be overstated and we are excited that he is staying part of CSM’s family in his Senior Advisor role.
“I’m thrilled that Christa is bringing her deep marketing and broad management experience to the North American leadership role. She offers a unique client perspective as well as an entrepreneurial growth mindset that will continue to challenge us to be agile and creative in serving our clients and motivating our people.”
