World Rally Championship (WRC) promoter North One Sport (NOS) has today strengthened its senior management team by appointing Tim Barkey to the new position of Marketing Director.
Tim, 44, has a strong track record of successful brand building, having worked in retail, trade marketing and promotions. Specific brand marketing experience includes Pepsico, where Tim worked on the Tropicana and Copella brands, and Kerry Foods, where he helped grow the brand portfolio by £40 million. Tim will be based at North One Sport’s office in London.
Simon Long, North One Sport’s CEO, said: “Against a very competitive field, Tim impressed us particularly with his practical approach to hands-on marketing, his experience of digital media and a strong commercial understanding of how to successfully turn around and build brands.
“He has a track record of close co-operation with stakeholders, and with the benefit of French as a second language he will be able to forge strong partnerships within the WRC community.
“This is an exciting time for the World Rally Championship, with new cars, new manufacturers joining and ambitious plans to grow the sport’s global audience. I’m confident Tim will quickly fit in and make a powerful contribution.”
In his capacity as a marketing consultant, Tim has worked on sports sponsorship marketing including Gatorade and Tropicana’s sponsorship of the LTA through the Stella Artois tennis tournament. Most recently, however, he has worked with Pernod-Ricard on GH Mumm and its partnership with Formula One.
“I’m absolutely delighted to be working with the team at North One Sport and also on WRC as a property,” said Tim. “Some fantastic work has been done already in terms of commercial partners and TV coverage – as well as clarifying the future direction of the sport. My role is all about building the WRC brand and making it one that everybody knows about – as opposed to perhaps a select few at the moment. I’m excited by the challenge and can’t wait to get stuck in.”
The race for the 2011 WRC title resumes this week when round nine of the championship, the all-asphalt ADAC Rallye Deutschland, gets underway on 18 August in the historic city of Trier.