Fanatics Betting and Gaming lands ex-Gucci SVP as CMO
US operator hires Selena Kalvaria to fill the vacancy left by Jason White's departure late last year
Fanatics Betting and Gaming (FBG) has appointed former Gucci head Selena Kalvaria as its new chief marketing officer (CMO).
Kalvaria joins the challenger brand to replace Jason White, who spent 12 months with FBG before departing in September 2023 to become president of advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy’s Portland office.
As FBG CMO, Kalvaria will lead a team of 40 marketing executives tasked with spearheading brand development and drive growth by overseeing brand management, media, content, creative and communications.
The move to FBG marks Kalvaria’s first stint in the gambling industry, with her most recent role coming at fashion titans Gucci.
Kalvaria arrived at the firm in June 2021 as SVP of brand engagement for Gucci Americas before adding client engagement to her remit in April 2022.
Before Kalvaria’s three years at Gucci, she spent a similar length of time at Away, a modern retail lifestyle brand.
She worked her way up the ranks from her first post as VP of brand marketing in April 2018 and left in June 2021 as SVP as well as CMO.
Kalvaria also spent three years with Anheuser-Busch, starting as senior brand manager in May 2015 before being promoted to senior director in January 2017.
The new FBG exec also counts experience at Guinness-owner Diageo and Credit Suisse on her CV.
Reflecting on what she aims to achieve during her time as Fanatics CMO, Kalvaria explained to the WSJ that she places huge emphasis on trying to engage with more female bettors, a group she feels aren’t always considered within gambling advertising.
“There’s a huge intersection between female athletes and sports and fashion, and we have a huge commerce business,” she explained. “There’s a lot of different ideas that we can cultivate that I think we can do uniquely.”
It has been a year of change at Fanatics so far, as April saw the firm finalise its acquisition of PointsBet’s US operations for $225m.
Weeks later, SVP of trading Andy Wright departed Fanatics after two years.
He confirmed the news on LinkedIn, stating: “Now it’s time to recharge the batteries and spend more time with family before finding a new venture. All the best to the team at Fanatics Betting and Gaming – I’ll be cheering you on from afar.”
Arnold Ash is EGR’s Executive Recruitment Partner. They support ambitious organisations to identify and attract industry leading executive talent. Find out more here.