News
Fanatics hires new chief marketing officer for trading cards, collectibles
One of the top priorities of Fanatics Collectibles is marketing the trading card and collectibles hobby to more fans and potential new collectors.
To lead that effort, Fanatics has hired Ken Turner as its first Chief Marketing Officer.
In the newly created role, Turner will further build the company’s marketing organization and oversee brand vision, strategy and marketing efforts for both physical and digital collectibles, including for Topps, the hobby’s oldest and most iconic trading card company.
In 2021, Fanatics acquired the rights to produce sports cards for MLB, the NFL, NBA and their respective players associations. It purchased Topps for $500 million last year to execute its MLB rights. The licenses for NFL and NBA, which are currently held by Panini, begin in 2025 and 2026.
Prior to joining Fanatics, Turners was the Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Red Bull North America, where he led innovative programming to create premium experiences for consumers, spectators and audiences. Prior to Red Bull, he spent 10 years working on large-scale consumer brands at at SC Johnson.
Turner will report directly to Fanatics Collectibles CEO Mike Mahan.
“As our collectibles business continues to see enormous opportunities for growth, I’ve been focused on building out a world-class team to execute our vision for delivering the best collector experience possible, bringing in more fans
into the sector and creating truly connective moments across culture and sports,” Mahan said. “Marketing the category is one of our highest priorities, and I couldn’t think of a better fit to lead this effort than Ken given his incredible track record and expertise that perfectly aligns with our business goals.”
Turner will play a key role in helping the new company attract more fans to the trading card and collectibles hobby. He will work closely with Fanatics Collectibles’ partners — sports leagues, player’s associations, athletes and creators — to enhance storytelling and create compelling campaigns, activations and experiences through marketing, advertising and new content.
“I couldn’t be more excited to join Fanatics Collectibles during a time of incredible growth and opportunity in the collectibles category,” Turner said. “Our business sits at the intersection of sports and culture, with an enormous amount of passion from the collecting community. The combination of those factors opens abundant possibilities to not only enhance the collector experience today, but to grow the category overall, bring in new audiences and build cultural relevance through unique experiences that we’re perfectly positioned to deliver to fans.“
A native of Wisconsin, Turner was recently named one of 2022’s Most Influential Black Executives in Corporate America by Savoy Magazine. He has an MBA from Kellogg’s School of Management and a BS in Finance from Marquette University.
