Business Development Director - Entertainment

What You’ll Do

We’re looking for a Business Development Director to join our Entertainment team. Reporting to the VP of Entertainment, you’ll develop and execute strategies to expand the business footprint of the Authentic Entertainment portfolio and ultimately deliver top-line revenue for the organization. You’ll be responsible for pitching, selling, negotiating, and driving new licenseing, NIL and marketing partnership deals to closure. If you’re a strategic thinker with an entrepreneurial spirit and a drive to win, we’d like to meet you.

What You’ll Be Working On

Regional Commercial Strategy & Revenue Growth

• Define, develop and execute APAC business development priorities across talent, entertainment, sports IP, content and live experiences in partnership with regional and global leadership teams.
• Assess brand and audience relevance, platform and network dynamics, and partner economics to determine commercialization strategies for the Entertainment portfolio and where to focus resources.
• Identify high-potential markets and partners and create commercial opportunities spanning endorsements, licensing, sponsorships, advertising, media rights, content partnerships and events.
• Establish and maintain high-value relationships with brands, agencies, platforms, media partners, hospitality groups, event promoters and other strategic partners.
• Own assigned revenue targets, grow key accounts and develop a balanced pipeline of near-term deals and longer-term opportunities.

Partnership Structuring & Deal Negotiation

• Understand and translate partner objectives into tailored proposals, defining the partnership concept, business plan, rights package, deliverables and financial terms.
• Lead negotiations on commercial terms and revenue models to drive deals to closure, working closely with Legal and Finance to develop appropriate agreements.
• Manage and track sales progress in CRM consistently and accurately.

Global-to-Local Market Strategy & Alignment

• Act as a strategic partner to Global Brand Heads across the Authentic Entertainment portfolio, bringing clear APAC market expertise, perspectives and best practices.
• Translate global brand direction into locally relevant strategies that respond to market needs and opportunities.
• Develop business cases for market-specific opportunities and exceptions, securing appropriate approvals and alignment with Global Brand Heads on priorities and commitments.

Brand & Partnership Management

• Own and manage key partnerships following deal closure, ensuring commercial commitments, rights, deliverables and brand objectives are successfully executed.
• Build strong, long-term relationships with partners and serve as a key point of contact between external partners and Authentic’s regional and global teams.
• Develop and execute market-specific plans to grow the relevance, visibility and commercial performance of assigned Entertainment properties across APAC.
• Monitor partner and portfolio performance, identify gaps and opportunities, and work with partners to develop new initiatives that drive incremental revenue and long-term growth.
• Collaborate with Global Brand Heads and internal Marketing, Legal, Finance and other cross-functional teams to ensure local partnership activities and executions align with global brand strategies and standards.
• Support and coordinate local activations across endorsements, sponsorships, content, media, events and other partnership initiatives, ensuring effective execution and delivery.
• Maintain visibility on key partnership performance, commercial commitments and upcoming opportunities, providing regular updates and recommendations to regional and global leadership.

Must Haves:

• 8+ years of commercial experiences in world-class sports leagues, talents, entertainment or IPs in Greater China and/or across APAC.
• Strong network and established relationships with brands, partners, and licensees.

• Proven expiernce  in closing substantial talent, brand, sponsorship or licensing partnerships and nevigating complex deal structres.
• Extensive knowledges and undestandings in the sports marketing, talent and professional sports event world, with basketball and football background is a plus.

• Self-motivated and entrepreneurial driven, with ability to build opportunities from the scratch
• Excellent presentation and communication skills to deliver internal and external messaging and proposals
• Collaborative team player with the ability to work independently and take full ownership of the projects
• Fluent in both English and Chinese
• Has a bachelor’s degree or above
• Must be willing and able to travel occasionally as the role requires