WWE Chairman & CEO Vince McMahon opened Thursday’s Q3 2020 earnings call with investors by praising the current WWE management team. Vince noted that he’s never felt as confident as he does right now about the current management team.
“I think that I’ve never felt as confident as I currently do in terms of this — of our new management. It’s really extraordinary what this has done for the entire business,” Vince said. (H/T to SeekingAlpha for the transcript) “There’s a new spirit, a new vibrance. And I don’t know if you find this anywhere, there’s a view of optimism, not just for optimism sake, but when you look at where we’re going to go in the future and use the resources that we have as well as other things like, this is a fun, exciting place to be.”
Vince touted two recent corporate hires, who hosted the call with him – President & Chief Revenue Officer Nick Khan, and Chief Financial Officer Kristina Salen.
He added, “And of course, that new management team is, as you mentioned, Nick Khan, who is the President and, of course, CRO, Kristina Salen, new CFO, and of course, other individuals that are here, that have been here before, they now feel the same way. The interaction is reinvigorating, it really is.”
Vince then mentioned that WWE Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon has taken on more duties and “increased responsibilities” with the company, noting that she has an “enhancive position to enhance growth” with the rest of the executive team.
Regarding Stephanie’s new responsibilities, word going around WWE HQ is that Global Sales & Partnerships now fall under Stephanie’s purview, according to PWInsider. This includes sponsorships and other relationships for the company. John Brody, who has been working as head of WWE’s Global Sales and Partnerships division, is still with WWE and in the same role, but he is now reporting directly to Stephanie.
Stephanie reportedly took over these new responsibilities in August, but her involvement was not publicly announced until the Q3 2020 earnings call. At one point she was referred to as “Chief Brand Officer & Director” on the call.
Every once in a while Stephanie will speak during an earnings call, but she had a more significant role during Thursday’s call. She talked about her responsibilities, WWE’s effort during the COVID-19 pandemic, what they’ve done with The ThunderDome, the WWE NXT UK re-launch with BT Sport, efforts to reach new audiences, celebrity involvement, WWE Community campaigns, new corporate partnerships, and more. Her opening statement included a line on what her current role is.
“A lot of people ask me, what does a Chief Brand Officer really do,” Stephanie said. (H/T to SeekingAlpha for the transcript) “And while every company is different, my role here is to expand and strengthen WWE’s brand by amplifying our presence across all media platforms, deepening engagement with our fan base, creating value for partners and driving revenue.”
She later added, “In 2021 and beyond, we remain bullish about the opportunity to focus on long-term partnerships and capitalize on our unique ability to bring engagement, scale and reach with the ease of negotiating with one party, WWE.”
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