Andy Sutherden

I work in the business of sport and sponsorship. For brands, my job is to help them use a partnership or association to increase customer engagement, loyalty, and ultimately sales. For bidding committees, my job is to help countries successfully lobby for the right to host major sports events, thereby increasing national wealth. For sports federations and governing bodies, my job is to help them improve communications, to enhance reputation and so attract more commercial revenue. I have been in this industry since 1992, at H+K Strategies since 2003, and I am now privileged to be leading the agency’s burgeoning sports marketing and sponsorship practice at a global level.

My motivation has always been to be part of an industry ‘first’: helping Korea successfully bid for the first co-hosted FIFA World Cup in 2002; editing the country’s first youth rugby magazine, Tryline; managing the PR for the Premier League’s first title sponsor, Carling;  signing Gillette’s first ‘global face’, David Beckham; being around the senior project team table for P&G’s Olympic programme, its first corporate brand campaign. I fundamentally believe our clients need bold advice and prefer to lead, not follow. Although my core areas of expertise are sponsorship consultancy and activation, the job demands an integrated mindset. I have managed through-the-line sports and sponsorship campaigns on behalf of clients, across multiple geographies, that incorporate issues + crisis management, internal communications, digital, public affairs and CSR. I was part of the successful London 2012 Bid team and have been a long term consultant on several of H+K Strategies' ‘signature’ accounts such as P&G; Gillette; Carling; HSBC and Castrol. This experience allows me to provide industry insight on behalf of the agency when asked to contribute to news programming in national broadcast media such as Sky News, BBC Radio and TalkSport, as well as in national print, online, trade magazines and journals. I am married with two girls; a media and business studies graduate; bi-lingual Greek (bit rusty these days!); a distinclty average golfer; ditto goalkeeper; OK cricketer; and passionate Chelsea fan.