EPCR, the organiser of the Investec Champions Cup and EPCR Challenge Cup, has announced the appointment of John Barton as its new Chief Commercial and Marketing Officer.
Barton joins from TEAM Marketing, where he played a leading role in the commercial development and sales of sponsorship and licensing rights for UEFA’s men’s football club competitions.
With more than 20 years of experience at TEAM Marketing, Barton brings extensive expertise across sponsorship, licensing, media rights, and event operations. A former media rights lawyer and project lead for UEFA’s club competition operations and finals, he will now oversee EPCR’s Commercial, Marketing and Broadcast teams.
In addition to his core responsibilities, Barton will also lead the development of EPCR’s World Champions Cup project, working directly with EPCR CEO Jacques Raynaud.
Welcoming the appointment, Raynaud said:
“We have made a really strong appointment in John to lead the Commercial, Broadcast and Marketing teams at EPCR. These are three crucial areas of revenue generation for EPCR, and John’s strong leadership will ensure we are maximising our opportunities to return revenue back to our leagues and clubs.
“John’s superb background extends across legal and business affairs, event operations and sponsorship sales and delivery. We are confident he will bolster the current leadership team and bring new energy and experience, as well as working closely with me to progress our World Champions Cup project.”
Barton said he was looking forward to the challenge:
“I am really excited to be joining Jacques and the team at EPCR and am looking forward to working together to grow the existing competitions, which showcase the very best of international club rugby, and to develop future opportunities.”
Barton officially began his role on 3 November and will be based at EPCR’s Lausanne headquarters.
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