ESPN Names Wanda Young SVP, Marketing and Consumer Engagement

ESPN has named Wanda Young to the newly created position of Senior Vice President, Marketing and Consumer Engagement. In this role she will be responsible for overseeing ESPN’s Marketing, Media, Research and Analytics, and Marketing Solutions efforts. Young, a marketing veteran with 20 years of experience, will work in the company’s New York office and report to Ed Erhardt, President Global Sales and Marketing.

The scope of this new role is designed to more closely align the marketing and sales functions at ESPN – an effort which began several months ago when Erhardt gained oversight of both groups. Young will work closely with all departments across the company to ensure brand, content, data and distribution are supported and marketed with innovation and positioned for growth, while simultaneously enhancing ESPN’s relationship with fans.

Young joins ESPN from Walmart, where she served as VP Media and Digital Marketing. During her almost eight years with the company, she was responsible for Walmart’s media efforts in traditional, digital and social channels and helped grow the brand to be one of the leading advertisers in the US. Those advertising efforts included investments across ESPN properties like College Football and NFL programming.

Said Erhardt, “For the past several years I’ve come to know Wanda and have consistently been impressed with her professionalism and approach to the business. She is an exceptional executive who has led the industry in the use of data and technology to enhance marketing efforts. Her expertise and insight will help advance our initiatives across platforms and products moving forward.”

Young joined Walmart in October 2008. Prior to Walmart, she was the director of interactive marketing/online customer experience at Alltel Wireless. She served as a corporate marketing web manager for Acxiom Corporation, a data services provider, where she spearheaded an award-winning site redesign. Young was named one of Advertising Age’s “Women to Watch” in 2009 and has been named to the Adweek 50 in 2014 and 2015. In 2014 she was recognized by Advertising Women of New York for ‘Changing the Game’ and in 2015 Brand Innovators named her one of the top women in Brand Marketing.