(IMSA) Director, Commercial

About the role

International Motor Sports Association (IMSA): The International Motor Sports Association, LLC (IMSA) was originally founded in 1969 and owns a long and rich history in sports car racing. Today, IMSA is the sanctioning body of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the premier sports car racing series in North America. IMSA also sanctions the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge, IMSA VP Racing SportsCar Challenge and Historic Sportscar Racing, as well as five one-make series: Ferrari Challenge North America, Lamborghini Super Trofeo North America, Mazda MX-5 Cup, Mustang Challenge and Porsche Carrera Cup North America. IMSA - a company within the NASCAR family - is the exclusive strategic partner in North America with the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) which operates the 24 Hours of Le Mans as a part of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The partnership enables selected IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship competitors to earn automatic entries into the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans. For more information please visit www.IMSA.com , www.twitter.com/IMSA , www.facebook.com/IMSA or www.instagram.com/imsa_racing . Position Summary IMSA is seeking a high-performing, self-motivated, entrepreneurial leader to lead its Business Development team. This newly created role will play a critical part in accelerating revenue growth, expanding IMSA's corporate partnership portfolio, and elevating the organization's position within the global motorsports and sports marketing landscape. This role will be responsible for identifying, structuring, negotiating, and closing multi-year high-value sponsorship, hospitality, and experiential marketing partnerships with leading national and global brands. This individual will serve as a strategic revenue leader focused on developing integrated partnership solutions that align with client business objectives while maximizing the value of IMSA assets and fan engagement platforms. The ideal candidate brings a proven track record of success in professional sports, motorsports, entertainment, media, or agency environments, with strong executive relationships, exceptional business development capabilities, and experience managing complex partnership negotiations. This role requires a proactive, results-oriented professional who thrives in a fast-paced, relationship-driven environment and is motivated by building long-term commercial growth. Essential Duties and Responsibilities Commercial Strategy & Revenue Growth Partner closely with senior leadership to establish commercial priorities, target categories, and go-to-market strategies aligned with long-term revenue objectives. Originate, structure, negotiate, and close multi-year corporate sponsorship, marketing, and hospitality partnerships with national and global brands. Drive significant new business revenue through strategic prospecting, networking, industry engagement, cold outreach, and relationship cultivation. Lead the full partnership sales cycle from prospect identification and consultative selling through proposal development, negotiation, and execution. Meet or exceed annual revenue targets, prospecting benchmarks, and pipeline development goals. Support annual budgeting, inventory planning, pricing strategy, and long-term commercial growth initiatives. Partnership Development & Client Relations Build and maintain strong relationships with C-suite executives, brand marketers, agencies, and key industry stakeholders. Develop customized partnership solutions integrating sponsorship, experiential marketing, hospitality, digital activation, content, team and league assets, and fan engagement platforms. Establish innovative marketing and hospitality initiatives designed to enhance partner ROI and create premium race weekend experiences. Represent IMSA at race weekends, industry conferences, networking events, and corporate meetings to strengthen market presence and expand business opportunities. Cross-Functional Collaboration & Execution Collaborate cross-functionally with Brand Marketing, Digital Communications, Partnership Marketing, Administration, and Event Operations teams to develop partnership proposals that meet both prospect and organizational objectives. Maintain accurate sales forecasting, pipeline reporting, and account activity within CRM systems. Analyze industry trends, competitive dynamics, audience insights, and emerging categories to identify new revenue opportunities and inform commercial strategy. Support the development of future partnership products across media, digital, content, data, and fan engagement platforms. Perform additional duties as assigned. Supervisory Responsibilities Directly oversees the Manager, Business Development, including coaching, performance management, and leadership support. Provides strategic direction and cross-functional leadership for commercial partnership initiatives and business development efforts. Required Qualifications Bachelor's degree in Business, Marke