The European Sponsorship Association is immensely saddened to announce that Board Director and widely-respected industry veteran, Toby Hester, has passed away.
Photo by Vid Ponikvar / Sportida
An innovator with a wealth of experience, Toby was larger than life. Warm, charismatic and big-hearted, he was an active contributor to the global sponsorship community, always wholeheartedly embracing a challenge with his customary energy, dynamism and creativity.
A family man with a wry joke and a smile for every occasion, Toby is survived by his much-loved wife Alyona and young daughter Annabelle. He’s also left an indelible mark on dozens of industry leaders with whom he collaborated, and very many more whom he mentored throughout his career.
Most recently founder and CEO of Sponsorship Coach, the former professional sportsman established the first sponsorship-specific coaching and mentoring service, reflecting his ambition to continually improve the industry he loved for colleagues and sports fans alike.
A loyal, genuine and unforgettable presence in the sponsorship industry, Toby created and delivered some of the biggest programmes in sport and entertainment marketing as Global Head of Football for Castrol and Head of Sponsorship for T-Mobile, including FIFA World Cups, UEFA European Championships, the England Football Team, ICC Cricket World Cup and the T-Mobile Cycling team. He broke barriers globally as owner of American Football Promotions, signing three UK players to NFL contracts and working across a raft of iconic sponsorship campaigns. Toby also helped raise the bar of music sponsorships on global tours, including Rolling Stones & Robbie Williams.
Whether sports, music or otherwise, Toby was unwavering in his commitment to enhancing fans’ experience in a genuine and unforgettable way, whilst also meeting measurable commercial objectives for brands.
Toby was generous with his time and played an instrumental role in growing ESA over the course of his 18 years as Board Director. He passionately believed in the value of sponsorship, consistently striving to raise industry standards. Toby always had a point of view, and never hesitated to provide wise counsel to the ESA Board and ESA members.
ESA Chairman Andy Westlake paid tribute, saying Toby would be a huge loss to an industry that he helped to shape and nurture.
“Toby has always been such a passionate advocate for the work we do at ESA and his long tenure on the Board is testament to the amazing contribution he’s made. He brought his many years’ experience to bear as we seek to build the Association, and his honest counsel will be missed by all of us on the Board.”
“The heartfelt wishes of myself, the ESA Board and all our members go out to his wife and daughter. I hope, through our work, that we can keep Toby’s memory alive for many years to come,” he said.
Karen Earl, ESA Chairman from 2007-2017, said the sponsorship industry would be poorer in Toby’s absence.
“Toby’s passion for the sponsorship industry was infectious. Both colleague and client to so many people, his enthusiasm never dimmed. He will be sadly missed by all who knew him and worked with him.”
All ESA members and members of the wider sponsorship industry are invited to send tributes, well-wishes and memories of Toby to marketing@sponsorship.org
Tributes to Toby will be published HERE
–ENDS–
For more information, please contact:
Max Weber
Marketing Communications and Events Manager – ESA
Email: maxweber@sponsorship.org
Phone: +44 (0)20 8390 3311
