Union Names 3 New VPs to Front Office, Promote 3 Others

Report From Philadelphia Union

CHESTER, Pa. – Philadelphia Union announced today they have added three new members to the front office staff and have promoted three more, including Dave Debusschere to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Joining the Union are Senior Vice President of Corporate Partnerships, Jean-Paul Dardenne; Vice President of Marketing, Doug Vosik; and Vice President of Tickets Sales and Fan Services, Charlie Slonaker. In addition to Debusschere, the club also promoted Dennis Carroll to Senior Vice President of Finance and Craig Amhaus to Vice President of Corporate Partnerships.

 

“This is a defining moment in our organization’s history and I am personally very excited about the opportunity to bolster our front office staff with three widely-respected and highly decorated individuals in their respective fields,” Union Chief Business Officer Tim McDermott said. “It’s also a great pleasure to announce the promotions of Dave, Dennis and Craig. Dave’s expertise and experience has been absolutely vital to this organization since its inception. Their well-deserved promotions, augmented with the addition of three senior level staff members, speak to the volume of our business operations and to the direction of our rapidly growing brand.  The collective experience of our leadership group from leagues such as the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLS as well as from world class performance and lifestyle brands will help fuel growth of our fan base and enhance the marketing goals of our corporate partners.”

 

Jean-Paul Dardenne joins the club as Senior Vice President of Corporate Partnerships after spending the last 10 years with the New Orleans Saints, as well as the last four years with the New Orleans Pelicans. Dardenne has served as the Sr. Vice President of Corporate Partnerships and Activation for both franchises, overseeing corporate partnerships sales and service since July 2012. A 20-year veteran in the sports marketing and sponsorship field, Dardenne most notably played a pivotal role in helping forge two naming rights deals (Mercedes-Benz Superdome and the Smoothie King Center).

 

Doug Vosik has joined as the Union’s Vice President of Marketing, coming from Under Armour where he served as the Senior Global Brand Manager of Football (soccer). Prior to joining Under Armour, Vosik served as the Director of Brand and Marketing Communications at Virgin Mobile, leading a brand re-positioning that resulted in historical highs in brand awareness, consideration and revenue. A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Vosik brings more than 15 years of leadership in brand strategy, marketing communications and creative leadership to the Union. A future-forward thinker with a hunger to disrupt tradition, Vosik most recently served a start-up, leadership role at Under Armour, building the organization’s soccer-specific brand identity, with marketing strategies designed for Under Armour Soccer in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Mexico, Chile and Brazil.

 

Charlie Slonaker joins the club as Vice President of Ticket Sales and Fan Services. For the past three years, Slonaker has served as the Director of Ticket Sales for the Indiana Pacers where he implemented various new techniques and strategies, including a variable pricing group structure for the first time in Pacers history.  While with the Pacers, Slonaker most notably increased group sales revenue by 20 percent in his first year managing the department. In his 10-year professional career, Slonaker has worked with four professional sports teams including the Pacers, Cincinnati Bengals, Chicago Fire and the Dayton Dragons minor league baseball team. While serving as the Manager of Season Ticket Sales with the Fire from 2011-13, he helped lead the staff to a new club record for season tickets sold.

 

The club has also announced the promotion of Dave Debusschere to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Debusschere, as the company’s current longest tenured employee, joined Keystone Sports and Entertainment LLC in June 2008 and previously held the title of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.  He played a pivotal role in the planning, financing and construction of both Talen Energy Stadium and the club’s state-of-the-art training facility. Debusschere has his MBA and is both a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Treasury Professional, and currently oversees all matters relating to stadium and facilities operations, international matches, finance, accounting, treasury, legal, insurance, human resources, IT and government relations.

 

The Union have also announced the promotions of Dennis Carroll and Craig Amhaus. Carroll was promoted to Senior Vice President of Finance and has been with the club since 2009. During his tenure, Carroll has been instrumental in the day-to-day accounting operations and supervising the club’s banking and treasury, human resource and risk management functions.

 

Amhaus was promoted to Vice President of Corporate Partnerships and has been with the club since 2011, previously holding the role of Director of Corporate Partnerships. His previous experience includes business development of integrated corporate partnerships at Just Marketing International and Dover Motorsports.