The European Tour and the Asian Tour have jointly appointed Jeff Kimble as Commercial Director. Kimble will assume his role from May 15, 2017 and work from the Tours’ office in Sentosa, Singapore.
A senior business professional with over 25 years of marketing, commercial and management experience in consumer and luxury goods across Asia, Kimble will be tasked to lead the Tours’ joint commercial and business development programmes.
He will hold the position of Commercial Director on the Asian Tour and Commercial Director, Asia on the European Tour.
Following a Strategic Alliance established between the Asian Tour and European Tour last year, Kimble will drive new business opportunities for properties including The Ryder Cup, EurAsia Cup, joint-sanctioned Asian Tour-European Tour tournaments and Tour-wide partnerships for both organisations.
European Tour CEO Keith Pelley said: “When we announced the Strategic Alliance between ourselves and the Asian Tour last July, we promised we would explore and maximise opportunities together and the appointment of Jeff Kimble is an important step in that direction. We are delighted to welcome him to the European Tour and look forward to utilising his experience in Asia to enhance our joint vision.”
Asian Tour CEO Josh Burack said: “On behalf of our team, I am delighted to welcome Jeff Kimble on board to lead the Asian Tour’s commercial team and to become a key member of our senior management team. Jeff has vast expertise in strategic planning, business development and implementation of marketing programmes and will certainly be a valuable member of our team as we aim to expand our tournament schedule and line up of corporate sponsors.”
Kimble graduated from the Arizona State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Advertising and has spent his entire professional career working and living in Asia, being based in Singapore, Shanghai and Bangkok.
His vast work experience includes stints for leading fmcg brands, luxury hotels and the banking sector, and he has held senior positions with Tiger Beer and Pernod Ricard Asia, which is the leading international spirits and wine company.
Kimble said: “I am looking forward to working with the team to help drive the commercial efforts of the Asian Tour and European Tour in Asia. These are exciting time for professional golf in the region. With the strategic alliance between the Asian Tour and European Tour firmly in place I believe there are numerous opportunities to continue to grow the game and to create more playing opportunities for the memberships, more value for the sponsors and more excitement for the fans.”
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