MIKE VAJDA

Mike is an entrepreneurial minded marketing leader with a broad range of brand, business development, event management, and sponsorship expertise gained while working with top properties and agency’s such as the LPGA, Octagon, IMG, NHL, Host Communications, and his own company Eclipse Sports Management. Mike has an accomplished and diverse background as a brand marketer and sports marketing executive. Throughout his 20 + year career he has worked with leading brands such as The Home Depot, IBM, Nokia, Coca-Cola, GE, Kia, and Dodge among many others. He served as the Race Director of the First Union (now Wells Fargo) Grand Prix professional cycling race in Atlanta, closing 8 miles of city streets for a world class international event. From there he joined Host Communications/Streetball Partners in 1996 as the project director for the National Hockey Leagues $2.5 million 22-city North American grass roots marketing tour, NHL BREAKOUT.

 

In 2000 Mike founded Eclipse Sports Management which owned and operated the Dodge Celebrity Invitational on The Celebrity Players Tour, and counted brands such as Nokia, and Internet Security Systems (now IBM) as consulting/event clients. Mike then became an Account Manager at Octagon specifically managing a wide variety of local and national partnerships including ESPN College GameDay for their client The Home Depot.

 

Mike moved on to the LPGA as a Director of Tournament Business Affairs where he was the designated representative for several LPGA tournaments including the Ricoh Women’s British Open as well as having new tournament development responsibilities. He relocated back to Atlanta and worked as Director of Marketing & Sales for athlete representation firm Blue Giraffe Sports where he facilitated strategic marketing and partnership opportunities for PGA TOUR,Web.com,and LPGA clients. In 2011 he was Director of Client Service for IMG Live where he facilitated strategic marketing and experiential programs for brands such as Kia and GE through there PGA TOUR,and LPGA partnerships. In his role at Synertia Partners he has activated marketing programs with a wide variety of  brands such as Gillette, NBCSN, STARZ, Truth, Dyle Mobile TV, College Football Hall of Fame and Big Brothers Big Sisters