BRUSSELS — Pan-European business strategy and communications consultancy BoldT has appointed sports branding specialist Terrence Burns as its first senior advisor for global sport.

Burns (pictured) managed Delta Airlines’ sponsorship of the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games and served as SVP of marketing of Meridian Management, the International Olympic Committee's in-house marketing and sponsorship agency.

He later went on to act as brand strategist for five winning Olympic bid campaigns (Beijing 2008, Vancouver 2010, Sochi 2014, PyeongChang 2018, LA 2028), two successful FIFA World Cup bids (Russia 2018, United States 2026), as well as working on the campaigns that returned golf and wrestling to the Olympic sports programme, and the Doha 2030 Asian Games.

Burns has also worked with leading sponsor brands, with assignments ranging from creating new Olympic sponsorship categories, negotiating sponsorship rights agreements, and developing sponsorship marketing and activation plans.

In his role at BoldT, Burns will expand the consultancy’s sports strategy, communications and stakeholder engagement offer  to commercial brands, sports properties and athletes. In addition to joining the firm as a senior advisor, Burns’ own firm, T Burns Sports Group, will become BoldT’s newest strategic partner, joining global partners Agora Public Affairs, Summit Strategy Group, IBEX Partners and EWM.

BoldT managing partner Jeremy Galbraith said: “As the world continues to open up, it is imperative that global sports recovers and thrives. As this happens, companies, corporate sponsors and leagues will need help navigating the new normal and there is no one better to help them do this than Terrence Burns. I have known and worked with Terrence for decades and I can genuinely say there is no-one in the world who knows the power of sports branding better than him.”

Burns added: “Over the past two years, global sports have been impacted by two game-changing shifts: Covid-19 and social justice movements. As global sport recovers and pivots to North America for the next decade with the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, companies and leagues need support to leverage these opportunities while minimising risk.”