The Vancouver Whitecaps have appointed Mark Pannes as CEO, the club announced Tuesday. He will oversee all business aspects of the club and report to ownership.
In the world of soccer, Pannes spent six years with Italian club AS Roma, where he rose to CEO. Elsewhere in sports, he worked with the New York Knicks as vice president of marketing, where he oversaw all ticket and sponsorship revenue and brand management.
“Today we are very pleased to add a skilled and experienced new member to our executive leadership team. Mark has been a leader of globally recognized sports organizations and will help our club continue to strive for excellence in everything we do,” Whitecaps co-owner & executive chair Jeff Mallett said in a club statement. “Over the past several months we have made clear our ambitions for this club to grow, highlighted with the addition of sporting director Axel Schuster and the investments being made in our first team roster. Together, Mark and Axel will lead the club to achieve its goals on and off the pitch.”
Outside of his work with Roma and the Knicks, Pannes was most recently a managing partner of private consultancy Union Sports, LLC. He was also director of Global Sports Group for HSBC Private Bank in London.
“This club has an incredible history, in an exceptional city, and I’m excited to work with all the passionate individuals involved with Whitecaps FC,” said Pannes. “As CEO, my job is to focus on the business by building upon the foundation that already exists among fans, supporters, and partners, and accelerate our growth with the tremendous opportunity that is in front of our club. I can’t wait to get started.”
