Vice President, Sales - Travel, Retail, Luxury

About Motorsport Network

Motorsport Network is a global, always-on media, technology and events platform uniquely positioned at the intersection of motorsport, automotive, and mobility. Reaching over 40 million fans across 25+ markets, the company operates some of the world’s most authoritative brands including Motorsport.com, Autosport, Motor1, Ride Apart, and InsideEVs, delivering live awards and event experiences, premium content, branded content, video, and podcasts that span racing, performance automotive, electric vehicles, and the future of mobility.

Backed by GMF Capital and with a growing global footprint, Motorsport Network is trusted by the world’s leading brands as a strategic commercial partner. This is not a traditional media company. It is the only platform that authentically bridges the endemic motorsport audience which is uniquely affluent, globally mobile, and brand-aspirational consumer base with the broader advertiser marketplace. For travel, retail, and luxury brands, that audience is the audience.

The Opportunity

As VP, Head of Industry, you will own Motorsport Network’s commercial relationships across three high-value verticals: Travel, Retail, and Luxury. This is an IC role. You are not a generalist sales leader but rather a sector specialist with deep fluency in the industries you serve, the relationships to match, and the strategic vision to build long-term, high-value partnerships that neither side could achieve anywhere else.

The motorsport audience is one of the most coveted consumer segments in premium advertising. High-income, globally traveled, passionately engaged, and deeply brand conscious, these fans are the core customer for ultra-premium hospitality, performance retail, and aspirational luxury goods. Motorsport’s global event calendar from Monaco to Singapore, Abu Dhabi to Austin, creates a natural overlap with the destinations, experiences, and lifestyle categories that define the travel and luxury marketplace. That alignment is powerful, and it is significantly under monetized. Your mandate is to change that.

This role sits at the very top of the client-facing organization. You will be the face of Motorsport Network to C-suite and VP-level marketing decision-makers, brand managers, and agency partners across your sectors. You will contribute to and help shape how the company goes to market, influence product and content strategy through client intelligence, and establish Motorsport Network as the indispensable partner for any travel, retail, or luxury brand seeking authentic access to this audience.

The best candidate for this role is someone who has lived inside these industries and understands the creative standards, the brand sensitivities, the media buying dynamics, and the white-glove client expectations that define luxury and premium retail marketing and someone energized by the challenge of translating that knowledge into commercially transformative outcomes within a premium sports, entertainment and media environment.

Sector Focus

You will own the go-to-market strategy, senior relationships, and revenue targets across the following three verticals:

Travel
• Premium and ultra-luxury hotel groups, resort brands, and hospitality conglomerates with audiences that align to the high-net-worth motorsport fan demographic
• Airlines, private aviation, and premium travel operators seeking brand association with the global racing calendar and its destination markets
• Tourism boards and destination marketing organizations for markets hosting Formula 1, MotoGP, and other major international race events
• Cruise lines, experiential travel brands, and concierge services targeting affluent, experience-first consumers
• Integrated partnerships combining editorial, event presence, and co-branded content across Motorsport Network’s global footprint

Retail
• Premium and performance retail brands across apparel, footwear, accessories, and lifestyle categories with motorsport or high-performance brand adjacency
• Global and regional e-commerce platforms targeting the motorsport and automotive enthusiast consumer
• Aftermarket automotive parts, accessories, and performance retail brands seeking endemic audience access
• Sports and outdoor retailers expanding into motorsport lifestyle categories, including fan merchandise and team-licensed product
• Seasonal campaign development aligned to race calendar moments, product launches, and key retail tentpolesLuxury
• Ultra-premium watchmakers, jewelry houses, and fashion maisons with established or emerging motorsport sponsorship heritage (including brands already present in F1, Le Mans, and superbike)
• Senior relationships with CMO, SVP, and VP-level brand and communications decision-makers at luxury conglomerates including LVMH, Kering, Richemont, and independents
• Bespoke branded content and editorial partnerships that meet the exacting creative standards of luxury brand guidelines
• Experiential activations at race weekends, hospitality suites, and Motorsport Network live events that deliver genuine access to UHNW and HNW audiences
• Spirits, fragrances, and lifestyle luxury brands seeking credible association with the performance, precision, and aspiration that define motorsport culture

Key Responsibilities

Sector Ownership & Revenue Leadership

• Own and deliver annual revenue targets across all three verticals, with accountability to the Global CCO
• Define the go-to-market strategy for each sector, including priority accounts, deal structures, and pricing frameworks
• Build and maintain a high-quality pipeline with accurate forecasting and senior visibility into deal progression

Senior Client & Agency Relationships

• Serve as the primary executive relationship holder for key brand and agency partners across Travel, Retail, and Luxury
• Operate at C-suite and VP level with clients, functioning as a trusted strategic advisor rather than a transactional seller
• Navigate complex agency ecosystems including luxury specialist shops, holding companies, media agencies, and travel-focused planning teams, to influence both planning and buying decisions

Integrated Partnership Development

• Originate, structure, and close multi-platform, multi-year partnerships spanning digital media, branded content, sponsorship, video, social, and experiential
• Work with editorial, creative, and product teams to develop bespoke solutions that meet the elevated brand standards of luxury and premium retail clients
• Champion client needs internally, ensuring Motorsport Network’s commercial offerings evolve to meet the demands of these sectors

Experiential & Event-Led Partnerships

• Leverage Motorsport Network’s live event presence and race weekend footprint to develop hospitality-led and experiential partnership packages for travel and luxury clients
• Identify and develop co-branded event opportunities that create genuine UHNW and HNW audience access that is a differentiator few media properties can credibly offer
• Collaborate, influence and help define the events strategy to ensure commercial packages are structured to maximize value for brand partners across Motorsport Network’s event calendar

Market Intelligence & Strategic Influence

• Maintain deep knowledge of each sector’s competitive dynamics, media investment trends, audience strategies, and marketing priorities
• Translate client and market intelligence into strategic recommendations for leadership on product, content, and commercial positioning
• Represent Motorsport Network at the highest-profile industry events and conferences relevant to your verticals from Cannes Lions and the FT Business of Luxury Summit to Condé Nast events, ILTM, and World Travel Market

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Collaborate with global sales colleagues to ensure sector expertise is shared and leveraged across markets
• Partner with marketing and communications to develop sector-specific thought leadership and case study content
• Contribute to the development of Motorsport Network’s broader commercial strategy alongside the CCO and senior leadership team

What We’re Looking For

Essential

• 12+ years of senior commercial experience in media, sponsorship, or marketing partnerships, with direct sector exposure in at least two of: Travel, Retail, or Luxury
• A demonstrable network of senior relationships with brand-side marketing decision-makers and agency partners across your sectors
• Proven track record of closing large, complex, multi-year partnership deals (ideally seven-figure) at a media, sports, or entertainment property
• Deep understanding of the branded content, digital media and advertising landscape, including programmatic, video, and integrated sponsorship models
• The credibility and personal sophistication to operate as a peer to VP and C-level clients at luxury and premium brands - someone who authentically understands their world
• Excellent communication, storytelling, and negotiation skills. You can construct a compelling narrative and hold a room

Highly Valued

• Experience working at or closely with a sports media property, rights holder, premium publisher, or luxury lifestyle title with travel or luxury clients
• Established relationships within the luxury conglomerate ecosystem (LVMH, Kering, Richemont) or with watchmakers, fashion houses, or spirits brands with motorsport adjacency
• Understanding of how premium travel brands approach destination marketing, partnership ROI, and the role of sport and events in their media mix
• Track record of building practices or verticals from scratch, not just inheriting existing books of business
• Comfort operating in a globally distributed, fast-moving, entrepreneurial environment
• Genuine interest in motorsport and high-performance automotive culture and an affinity for the world Motorsport Network represents makes this role significantly more effective

Why This Role, Why Now

Motorsport has become one of the world’s great luxury stages. The Formula 1 paddock is now a front row for the global elite, spanning the Monaco Grand Prix, the Singapore night race, and the Las Vegas Grand Prix. The audience’s trackside and online are the same consumers luxury, travel, and premium retail brands spend fortunes trying to reach through traditional channels. Motorsport Network is the media company that owns the conversation around all of it, 365 days a year, across 25+ markets.

The commercial opportunity this creates for travel, retail, and luxury brands is significant, and largely untapped at the media partnership level. Most luxury motorsport spend goes directly to team sponsorships. Motorsport Network offers something different: a sustained, editorial, audience-first relationship with the fan and the consumer, at scale, with the creative sophistication to meet luxury brand standards.

This is a role where you will have real ownership, meaningful resources, and the backing of a well-capitalized business (GMF Capital) that is investing in growth. You will not be working inside a legacy media bureaucracy. You will be building something, and defining how Motorsport Network shows up to three of the most brand-premium sectors in global media, sports and entertainment.

If you have spent your career at the intersection of sport, media, and luxury or travel marketing and believe the best chapter is still ahead of you - this is that chapter.

This is a Hybrid position reporting to our New York City office
Compensation: On Target Earnings $250K to $375K - Range includes Base plus variable compensation. Compensation package will depend on experience and training.