GUINNESS
In 1995 I managed the Guinness sponsorship of the Ireland Rugby World Cup Squad in a similar fashion to the Guinness involvement in the Soccer World Cup.
During 1998 and 1999 Guinness committed over £16 million supporting their first ever global sponsorship, as an official sponsor of Rugby World Cup ‘99.
From the initial negotiations, I was instrumental in managing press relationships, events and the `Guinness Ambassadors’ including: 1995 Rugby World Cup winning captain, Springbok Francois Pienaar, former Wales international and GB Rugby League star Jonathan Davies and Michael Lynagh the former Australian rugby international.
Responsibilities for all the above included: origination and management of the exploitation programme of promotion, media, events -including 'ambush' marketing initiatives, which overall increased Guinness sales over this period 5-fold.