Phil Cook is the CMO of the WNBA, the 26-year-old professional women’s basketball league. The WNBA is valued at more than a billion dollars with the teams included—42% owned by the WNBA, 42% by the NBA, and the rest by other investors.
Phil just finished his first year with the WNBA. It’s his first stint as Chief Marketing Officer, and the first ever CMO for the league. He previously worked at Nike for 25 years, working primarily in basketball and women’s sports. In that role, he led Nike’s Global Basketball Brand through identifying and serving new consumers, driving new revenue, and introducing female athletes into marketing campaigns.
In this conversation, Jim and Phil discuss the importance of CMOs and CEOs building strong relationships, lessons he learned from working at Nike that helped him in his current role and how he’s navigating being the first CMO of a major sports league.
CMOs often hold one of the most innovative and challenging roles in business today. Those who excel can operate at the highest level to drive growth and create value for their organizations. To learn more how Deloitte helps bolster the value CMOs deliver, visit www.cmo.deloitte.com.