KemperLesnik, a Chicago-based sports marketing, events, public relations and content marketing agency, announced the appointment of Doug Manning as senior vice president of business development. Manning, a veteran sponsorship and marketing executive, will join KemperLesnik’s Sports & Events Marketing division to help to grow the agency’s services in sponsorship consulting, management, and activation. He will report to executive vice president and managing director Tom Valdiserri.
“Doug is an award-winning executive with a notable reputation of success in our industry,” said Valdiserri. “His vast expertise in sponsorship and brand activation for multiple Fortune 500 brands will benefit our existing client base in the sports, hospitality, and entertainment industries and help us expand the number and caliber of services we provide for all clients at KemperLesnik.”
Prior to joining KemperLesnik, Manning served as president of You Are Here, a sponsorship and activation agency based in Atlanta. As the company’s top executive, Manning was responsible for launching the agency and leading the company through the pandemic while retaining 100 percent of agency clients. He held a similar role at CSE (formerly Career Sports & Entertainment), where he began his career in the industry as an account director before eventually taking over as president.
“I am a strong believer in the power of collaboration and creative thinking to help a client achieve their goals, and the level of service and innovation that KemperLesnik has provided to its impressive roster of clients in the sports and events space over the years aligns directly with those values,” Manning said. “I look forward to building and growing our business together.”
With over 25 years of agency experience in new business development, sponsorship consulting, and marketing, Manning’s roster of clients and properties includes Aarons, Aflac, AT&T, Brown-Forman, Coca-Cola, Cricket, Kellogg’s, NASCAR, NBC Sports, Synovus, and 3M.
Manning is a past recipient of Sports Business Journal’s prestigious Forty Under 40 award and is a graduate of Georgia Tech, where he received his Bachelor of Science in management with minors in finance and economics.
About KemperLesnik
KemperLesnik is a sports marketing, events, public relations, and content marketing agency. Ranked by Crain’s Chicago Business among Chicago’s top PR agencies, KemperLesnik produces integrated business and consumer-targeted communications programs; manages major national events, including the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, the McDonald’s All American Games, the POWERADE Jam Fest; and activates the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship and the Jr. NBA Conference. For more information, visit www.kemperlesnik.com.
