The Columbus Crew today announced several additions and promotions within the front office of one of Major League Soccer’s Charter Members. Over the course of the 2013 season, the Crew has added three managers: Colt Berry (Community Relations), Jacob Hanselman (Outside Sales) and Tim Miller (Communications). Promotions on the sales side included: Adam Carney, Bobby Camilleri, Anthony Gady, Melanie Seiser, Madeline Davis and Nick White. Phil Goldfarb also received a promotion in a transition from sales to corporate partnerships. Finally, seven new staffers were added to the Crew’s Outside Sales Department.
Berry joins the Crew as its new Community Relations Manager. Previously, the Rock Springs, Wyoming native served as the New Business Development Manager for the Dallas Cowboys after stints with the Houston Aeros, Houston Astros and Atlanta Falcons in community relations capacities. Berry, a University of Houston graduate, works to organize and manage all Crew community outreach programming with a focus on serving challenged youth, encouraging healthy and positive lifestyles, honoring the military and keeping Columbus beautiful. These programs include Get a Kick Out of Reading, Active Bodies Active Minds, Hometown Hero, Casting With The Crew, Massive Makeovers and other initiatives. He also manages community-related player appearances and America’s Hardest Working Mascot, Crew Cat. Berry reports to the Crew’s Senior Director of Marketing and Promotions Arica Kress, who was promoted to her current role ahead of the 2013 season.
A Loras College graduate and native of Iowa, Jacob Hanselman was brought in to the Crew as an Outside Sales Manager after two and a half years with the Chicago Fire. The graduate of Major League Soccer’s National Sales Center is in charge of managing the Crew’s outside sales room – a growing staff of 15 people – on a day-to-day basis as well as supporting corporate ticket sales initiatives.
Miller joined the Crew just before the 2013 campaign as the club’s Communications Manager. His arrival to the Black & Gold came on the heels of two seasons with the New England Revolution, where he served as the club’s Communications Coordinator. A graduate of Boston College, he worked in media relations for the Boston Bruins and New England Patriots prior to his time with the Revolution. He also has additional PR experience with the Boston Marathon and Brentford Football Club in England’s League One. Throughout the season, the suburban Chicago (Mount Prospect) native has served as the primary team contact for day-to-day media inquiries and player appearances, facilitating all incoming media requests, including print, digital, television and radio.
The Black & Gold’s newest Director of Season and Premier Sales is Adam Carney, who received a promotion earlier this season. Carney has been with the Crew since the 2006 season and has transitioned from a part-time, to a full-time, to a Managerial, and now a Director position with the Crew. Along the way, the Wilmington College graduate has received multiple MLS awards for excellence in sales. In his new role, the Cincinnati, Ohio native continues to oversee the Season Ticket Sales Team, as well as the newly created Premier Sales team.
Bobby Camilleri has been promoted to Corporate Account Executive. The Troy, New York native and graduate of Messiah College and the National Sales Center now focuses on selling complex ticket packages to the Columbus corporate community. Camilleri was an All-MLS performer in two successful seasons on the sales side prior to the promotion.
Also receiving a promotion to the new title of Corporate Account Executive is Melanie Seiser. The Ohio University and National Sales Center graduate was an All-MLS performer for two and half seasons before the rise to her new position. Seiser, of Canfield, Ohio, will also work with the local corporate community of Columbus to sell ticket packages.
Madeline Davis has earned a promotion to Senior Client Services Representative. The Baldwin-Wallace College graduate will work with a large segment of Crew season ticket members to ensure they utilize their benefits and renew seats year-on-year. Davis, a Hudson, Ohio native, will also take the lead on retaining the majority of the club’s Premier Seat clients.
An All-MLS sales person in each of the past three seasons, Nick White has been promoted to Senior Group Sales Account Executive. White, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio and a graduate of The Ohio State University has worked to build relationships with large soccer organizations in Ohio and the surrounding states while also successfully working with affinity group and companies on corporate outings.
Anthony Gady has also received a promotion, now donning the title of Season Sales Account Executive. After a stint with the San Diego Padres inside sales team, Gady, an Ohio Northern graduate set Outside Sales Department records for season ticket sales before he was promoted 11 months into his tenure with the Black & Gold. The Cincinnati, Ohio native continues to focus on selling season ticket packages to individual clients and companies in the Columbus area.
A Bowling Green graduate, Greg Horak’s promotion has earned him the title of Season Sales Account Executive, a promotion earned after only seven months within the organization. Prior to joining the Crew, Horak taught golf and managed a tax office in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Munroe Falls, Ohio native works with the sales team to sell season ticket packages targeted towards individual clients and Columbus-based companies.
Transitioning from the sales side of the Crew front office to the Corporate Partnerships Department, Phil Goldfarb has received a promotion to become Business Development Manager. A native of the Akron/Cleveland area, Goldfarb began with the Crew in 2008 after graduating from The Ohio State University. Over the last six seasons, he’s worked closely with soccer clubs, Crew supporters and corporate season ticket holders. In his new position, the six-year Crew veteran will be taking on a business development role with new business and new partner generation along with a focus on activation and marketing efforts through creative means.
Reporting under new Outside Sales Manager Hanselman in the Outside Sales Department are seven new sales staffers, including: Zach Collins, Molly Hartman, Katie Heitkamp, Brandon Ogden, Gregory Ranieri, Jim Ruden and Amanda Seimer.
Ruden, Collins and Heitkamp were promoted after serving as members of the crew’s inaugural Night Sales staff. Collins– a graduate of Ohio State University with a Masters Degree from West Virginia – joins the Crew from his position as a supervisor of multiple call centers for Garden City Group and interning with the Fan Experience and Promotions group at Ohio State. Hartman — a December 2012 graduate of Montclair St. University – joins the Black & Gold after internships with the Camden Riversharks and New Jersey Nets and most recently was a sales leader for the Trenton Thunder group sales team. Heitkamp was a May 2013 graduate from Defiance College where she was the captain of the soccer and track teams, and had been working as a Partnership Intern for the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.
Ogden is a June 2013 graduate from Ohio State University and previously worked multiple jobs and internships during his time at Ohio State, including finishing second in tickets sold in the Crew’s Campus Crew program. Ranieri – a graduate of Duquesne University – spent time as a New Business Development Representative with the Minnesota Twins and previously had internships with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Duquesne’s ticket sales department. A graduate of Purdue University, Ruden spent time running his own businesses including an insurance and financial services practice and a fitness enrichment program for preschoolers focusing on soccer. A graduate of Ohio University, Seimer joins the Crew having previously worked in minor league baseball as the Director of Promotions and Community Relations for the Chillicothe Paints and as a Corporate Partnership Associate for the York Revolution.
