NASCAR announced today that Kenny Mitchell has been named Managing Director of Brand and Consumer Marketing, responsible for leading and implementing the company’s overall brand direction and overseeing the strategic growth plans for several critical segments, including youth, millennial and multicultural. Mitchell will start on Monday, Dec. 2, and be based out of NASCAR’s headquarters in Daytona Beach.
Mitchell is the next step in the evolution of NASCAR’s marketing function reporting to Vice President of Marketing Kim Brink. He will be responsible for developing and executing the annual NASCAR marketing plan and overseeing the company’s media strategies and planning in close collaboration with other NASCAR departments. Additionally, he will work on advancing the Industry Action Plan strategies aimed at growing and diversifying the sport’s fan base.
Mitchell joins NASCAR from Dew Tour, a Division of Alli and The NBC Sports Group, where he served as vice president and general manager, responsible for overseeing all aspects of the Dew Tour brand and business, including partnerships, sales, marketing, content, events operations and execution. In addition, he led all business development and expansion efforts.
Prior to joining the Dew Tour, Mitchell spent time at Gatorade/PepsiCo. While at Gatorade, he held several brand management and sports marketing positions. Most notably, Mitchell served as the director of sports marketing at Gatorade where he managed many of the brand’s sports marketing partnerships, including athlete and property relations, sponsorship negotiations, activation and the creation and execution of retail programming.
“We are confident that Kenny’s wealth of marketing experience and solid sports background will help to guide NASCAR in our efforts to grow the brand across several key demographics,” said NASCAR Chief Marketing Officer Steve Phelps. “Kenny’s innovative work in developing and growing brands so that they appeal to a younger and more diverse audience makes him the perfect fit for this role and our organization.”
Mitchell holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College in New Hanover, N.H., and an MBA from Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business. He was inducted into Dartmouth’s Sports Hall of Fame as a member of the school’s men’s basketball team. He and his wife, Heather, have a daughter named Carter.
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