Elevate Communications (www.elevatecom.com) recently announced the appointment of Terry Lyons to the position of senior vice president and managing director. In this newly created role, he will report directly to Elevate founding Principals John Gates and Keith Gainsboro.
Lyons, a 26-year industry veteran and leading innovator in international sports marketing communications, has joined the firm after serving as Vice President of International Communications for the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Lyons will direct Elevate's agency operations and work with the firm's seasoned public relations leadership to fuel the national and global growth of its burgeoning sports marketing communications practice. He will be responsible for driving program innovation, establishing new expertise and thought leadership, identifying and nurturing talent and providing counsel to the agency's clients.
Lyons joins Elevate after a successful career at the NBA where he was part of the league's remarkable growth from a small organization to one of the most recognized brands in the world with offices spanning the globe. He served in a number of senior leadership positions in the NBA's communications department, first helping to grow and expand awareness for the NBA brand domestically then leading its international public relations efforts to support the league's global sports and business initiatives.
"Terry has built an impressive reputation as a creative thinker who has the ability to drive brand awareness into uncharted territory across the globe," said Elevate Principal Keith Gainsboro. "His track record for building new capabilities, extending awareness of one of the world's most admired brands and working in the international arena will be a tremendous asset to our clients as we look to enhance our global leadership in this core practice area. His breadth of experience, relationships and reputation in the sports marketing industry are unparalleled."
"Over the course of his career, Terry has helped make the NBA's communications group one of the finest and most respected in all of sports - working to grow it from a small sports information shop to a full-service, multi-disciplinary global communications organization with business relationships on every continent," said Elevate Principal John Gates. "We are excited to have him as part of our senior leadership team as we continue to add new capabilities and services to address our clients' growing national and international communications needs."
During his tenure with the NBA, Lyons gained expertise in a wide range of communications functions - from marketing to live television production. In his most recent role as Vice President of International Communications, Lyons was responsible for all of the league's communications efforts outside of the United States.
