Sponsor Spotlight - Visa Exec Moving On; New Partners for Canoe, Triathlon, IAAF

Visa Exec Moving On

After a career with Visa spanning nearly a dozen Olympics, Global Sponsorship Marketing chief Michael Lynch will leave the company at the end of March.

Lynch led the company’s Olympic marketing program as well as sponsorships with the FIFA World Cup and the NFL.

A source familiar with Visa tells ATR there would appear to be no issues between Lynch and the company, especially with plans to leave in 60 days. No replacement has been named.

"We appreciate Michael’s contributions and commitment to helping Visa build a comprehensive and unmatched sponsorship portfolio. We are fortunate to have an experienced sponsorship management team that will continue to manage and extend our portfolio to the benefit of our brand, clients and partners," said a statement from Kevin Burke, head of Global Marketing Strategy and Marketing Americas.

Pantene Announces Beauty Ambassadors

Eleven female athletes will represent Pantene in its global marketing campaign.

Olympic medalists Jaqueline Carvalho, Natalie Coughlin, Paola Espinosa, Evgeniya Kanaeva, Wu Minxia and Victoria Pendleton will serve as ambassadors.

"We believe that healthy is the new beautiful and we’re thrilled to add this exceptional group to our select list of global beauty ambassadors. These women are a wonderful fit with our heritage of performance and shine," said Hanneke Faber, vice president and brand franchise leader of global haircare.

Gisela Dulko, Annamay Pierse, Aya Terakawa and athletes to be named later will also represent Pantene in the campaign.

Olympics Commissioner Resigns Over Bhopal Disaster

A former member of the Commission for a Sustainable London 2012 says she refuses to be an "apologist" for Dow Chemical.

Meredith Alexander has resigned from the body that monitors organizations responsible for delivering the Games over Dow’s link to an industrial disaster in 1984 in Bhopal, India where thousands died after a pesticide plant leaked toxins into the city.

In 2001, Dow bought the Union Carbide Corporation, which owned a majority stake in the responsible company, Union Carbide India Limited.

In an interview with Amnesty International, Alexander said the commission was defending Dow’s side of the story. "I feel that the commission ended up becoming an apologist for Dow Chemical and is taking Dow’s side in the debate about whether or not Dow bears responsibility for the Bhopal tragedy."

The Commission contends that it never commented on the wider corporate actions of Dow – like the Bhopal disaster – and was only responsible for monitoring sponsorship activities, including the procurement process.

Chairman Shaun McCarthy did say that the commission will address ethical considerations raised by this issue in its upcoming Annual Review.

"I share Meredith’s views that what happened in Bhopal is an appalling human tragedy. I believe that this issue has raised wider questions about corporate behavior, past and present, and how ethical issues are effectively factored into decision making," he said in a statement.

Nestle, IAAF Ink Deal

Nestle will team with the IAAF over the next five years in an attempt to make athletics the top participation sport in schools.

This sponsorship of the IAAF Kids’ Athletics program will see the Swiss food giant lend financial support to one of sport's largest grassroots development efforts, one that’s reached 1.5 million youth in 100 territories since 2005.

"Our five year sponsorship with Nestlé, a company with a global reputation in nutrition, health and wellness, will help to ensure that the central goals of IAAF Kids’ Athletics are not only met but enhanced. It will allow athletics to reach out to millions more kids to encourage them to take up a healthier lifestyle," said IAAF president Lamine Diack.

Janet Voûte, Nestlé’s Vice President Public Affairs, added: "Over and above supporting IAAF’s Kids’ Athletics, we believe that this will further enhance the Nestlé Healthy Kids Program, which aims to raise nutrition, health and wellness awareness of school age children around the world. Our program reached an estimated 6 million children in 60 countries in 2011."

Athletes Sign On as Rio Tinto Reps

Three athletes will serve as Olympic ambassadors for the mining company Rio Tinto.

Rower Drew Ginn, pole vaulter Steve Hooker and swimmer Libby Trickett have signed on and will take their success stories to some of the company’s mining communities.

"We're thrilled to have Libby, Drew and Steve as Rio Tinto ambassadors who can share their dreams with our people working in cities and regional and remote areas," said David Peever, the company’s managing director for Australia.

Rio Tinto partners with the Australian Olympic team and is official provider of metal used to produce medals for the London Olympics.

New Partner for Canoeing

Starting system specialist Polaritas will provide product to the International Canoe Federation for at least another two years.

The joint initiative announced Friday formalizes a long-running cooperation between the ICF and its Hungarian supplier.

"They are now an ICF Official partner and this shows the commitment they have to our sport," ICF secretary general Simon Toulson said in a statement."

Polaritas CEO József Grand added: "We are keen on developing technical solutions which make racing more enjoyable and give equal chances to all competitors, and furthermore makes the racing fascinating to the spectators."

DB Schenker Partners with Triathlon Series

DB Schenker will provide transportation and logistics services for the ITU World Triathlon Series for the next three years.

The series covers eight countries on four continents, starting in Sydney in April. The competition will wrap up in Auckland, New Zealand in October.

Written by Ann Cantrell, Ed Hula and Matthew Grayson.

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