Alex SeyferthChief Revenue OfficerChicago Blackhawks
Age: 39
Born: Ann Arbor, Mich.
Education: University of Pennsylvania, B.A., philosophy, politics and economics; Northwestern University, M.S., integrated marketing communications
Family: Spouse, Angie; children Grace (7), Archer (5) and Jackson (4)
Consider it the ultimate tribute to SBJ’s Forty Under 40 honor. Between when Alex Seyferth received the honor as a member of the Chicago Cubs front office and the time this story appeared in print, he’d accepted a new post as the Chicago Blackhawks’ CRO.
Also worth noting: Jaime Faulkner (Forty Under 40 Class of 2016), Blackhawks president of business operations, is Seyferth’s new boss and is married to Cubs Chief Commercial Officer Colin Faulkner (Forty Under 40 Class of 2015), who hired Seyferth in 2013.
“Alex just has a good way about him and is very poised,” said Colin Faulkner. “He’s creative, understands the business well and we’ll miss him.”
It seems fated that Seyferth would work on the business side of sports. His father, Steve Seyferth, is a longtime marketing executive. As a senior vice president at agency Bayer Bess Vanderwarker, the older Seyferth orchestrated Gatorade’s seminal “Be Like Mike” campaign in 1991. When some kids were needed for the ad, 4-year-old Alex Seyferth was an extra, his first job in the industry.
“Because of my dad, sports and marketing were always important and what I wanted to do,” Seyferth said. Also, his uncle played football at Michigan and later worked for its athletic department.
Seyferth’s accomplishments with the Cubs include larger sponsorships with Coke and Benjamin Moore, which included the first rooftop signage facing into Wrigley Field, and the Cubs’ first jersey patch deal, with Motorola coming on board in 2024.
He also helped land a DraftKings deal that brought the first sportsbook into Wrigley, and MLB’s first team deal in the CBD category, with Mynd Drinks. Another novel activation involved convincing Reynolds Wrap to brand the Cubs’ rain tarp.
“Ideally, you want any partnership to be good for the brand, the team and additive to the fans’ experience,” said Seyferth. “Those are the ones that endure.”
Ari Roitman, group leader of Egon Zehnder’s executive search sports practice, hired Seyferth twice: first as an intern at MLB; later as a sponsorship account executive at the Philadelphia Eagles.
“He possessed a rare combination of persistence, curiosity and determination,” Roitman said. “He was incredibly adept at connecting and relating to his colleagues, with a unique ability to place himself in the shoes of others to understand their motivations, stresses and goals.”
The Cubs and Blackhawks are splitting the table for Seyferth at the Forty Under 40 dinner in November. Seems entirely appropriate.