A detailed photo of Fanatics apparel on display at NFL Hospitality during the 2018 NFL Annual Meetings at The Ritz Carlton Orlando, Great Lakes on March 26, 2018 in Orlando, Florida.
Mark Brown | Getty Images
Fanatics, the fast-growing sports e-commerce company, announced Thursday that it has added SoftBank’s Lydia Jett and former Airbnb executive Jonathan Mildenhall to its board.
The Fanatics board now has 10 members, including Michael Rubin, Fanatics chairman and minority owner of the Philadelphia 76ers, Greg Mondre, co-general manager of Silver Lake, and NBA legend Magic Johnson.
Mildenhall, 54, is a former chief marketing officer at Airbnb and co-founder of TwentyFirstCenturyBrand, a consulting firm. Jett is head of global e-commerce at SoftBank Investment Advisers, the company that manages Softbank Vision Funds.
SoftBank initially invested $1 billion in Fanatics in 2017. This brought Fanatics’ valuation to $4.5 billion. That same year, the NFL invested about $95 million and MLB added $50 million. Now Fanatics is estimated at $27 billion.
The fanatics want to transform in a 100 billion dollar company which offers online sports betting. The company is expected to eventually pursue an initial public offering, though it doesn’t plan to go public this year, people familiar with the company previously told CNBC.
Fanatics said Jett and Mildenhall would play “vital roles” in helping him grow globally.
Sporting goods company Fanatics has named e-commerce and marketing executives Lydia Jett and Jonathan Mildenhall to its board.
Fanatics Board Members: Jonathan Mildenhall, Lydia Jett
“Fanatics are in the midst of an incredible transformation and the deep expertise and insight that Lydia and Jonathan bring to the board will be vital as we unlock a new digital experience for sports fans everywhere,” said Rubin said in a statement. “Both are visionaries in their respective fields who will provide invaluable support and guidance as we continue to build a game-changing sports platform.”
Jett began his career at JPMorgan Chase & Co., according to SoftBank website. She is a graduate of Stanford University Business School and the London School of Economics. She has also represented SoftBank on boards, including a South Korean e-commerce company coupangwhich trades on the New York Stock Exchange.
Mildenhall left his post at Airbnb in 2017 and launched TwentyFirstCenturyBrand soon after in 2018. Fanatics said he sits on the board of companies including Platoon and GoFundMe.
In a statement, Jett said Florida-based Fanatics is “better positioned than ever” to lead the digital sports consumer product space. In March, the company raised another $1.5 billion and expects $6 billion in revenue in 2022.
Comments are closed.