Our latest Industry Insider takes us to South America! We sat down with Pedro Melo, Chief Commercial Officer at Brazilian champions, Club Atlético Mineiro.
Tell us about yourself, what is your current role and what roles have you done previously?
Hello my name is Pedro Melo and I am the Chief Commercial Officer of Clube Atlético Mineiro from Brazil, the currently Brazilian Champion, Brazil Cup and Supercopa do Brazil Champions.
I am the responsible of all sponsorship contracts and all commercial deals of the club since 2018. Where I managed to change the concept of sponsorship capture and we won the biggest master sponsorship contract in the club’s history.
I worked for 2 year at Clube de Regatas do Flamengo where I was the Head of Marketing and Sponsorship. Where we restructured the entire funding area and began a journey to change the level of contracts obtained.
In sports, I worked at São Paulo Futebol Clube when I started my career as the fans program coordinator. I’ve also worked outside of sports at Globo TV, the largest broadcast in Brazil.
What do you do in your current role?
I am responsible to prospect sponsors in the market, management the sponsors deliveries and to development new projects to find new money to the club. I am focused on attracting new sponsors and partners, developing new projects that bring new revenue to the club.
In 2020, I participated in the creation of the Manto da Massa project, where the fans designed shirt models and the winning shirt was produced and sold to fans, in the first year we sold 110 thousand shirts, in the second year 120 thousand shirts and in the third 140,000 shirt, yielding a new and important revenue for the club.
Through my work in sports, I was awarded the best commercial executive in the football industry in South America!
“Normal” isn’t a thing in sport so what does an “average” week look like for you?
Usually the weeks are always very full and busy with the management of contracts, attracting new partners as well as having meetings with the directors of the companies and with members of the team.
I also often participate in planning activations in matches.
How did you end up where you are right now? When did you know you wanted to work in sport?
I was a basketball player and passionate about sports. I’ve always followed all kinds of sports and I’ve always played a lot of sports.
When I entered college, I took the advertising course because I believed it was the course that could improve me in marketing and sales.
When I had the chance to start my career at São Paulo Futebol Clube, it was a unique opportunity. After that I had the opportunity to work at Rede Globo, at Clube de Regatas do Flamengo and now at Clube Atlético Mineiro.
This brought me huge experience in the sports market.
What is your number one focus when it comes to your work?
Focus on results, records in growth contracts, and in the satisfaction of our sponsors and fans.
I also focus on bringing sponsors the best possible results, because that way they will always be with us and increasing the value of their contracts.
Can you tell us about a time you failed and what you learned from it?
When working in negotiation, I think I failed sometimes in the close of some deals. Sometimes it was not my failure but the decision of the company although I still feel like I failed. I am always looking to improve my skills in negotiations.
What are you excited about in your industry at the moment?
The sports market changes all the time and is very dynamic. I believe that what excites me the most in the industry is the fact that new technologies and innovations arrive all the time.
Fans/consumers are getting closer to their clubs, their idols and this makes more and more business to be done. We live in a totally globalised world where brands speak to each other all over the world, and the sports industry is no different.
I like to follow all this change and be able to apply it in my day to day in the management of the commercial area.
If you could change one thing about your Industry, what would you change?
I think better management of clubs and leagues, more campaigns to encourage the practice of sports.
Greater demand for courses so that those interested can become professional in this important area that generates millions of jobs and income.
Sport is a hectic industry, what do you do to switch off?
Every day I switch off with my family, my wife and kids. I practice sports (tennis and basketball). I like to be with with my friends, and travel when it is possible.
What is the one piece of advice you would give to someone wanting to work in the sports industry?
Study, be passionate in sports, practice sports, network, improve your skills and study another languages.
Be curious and try to be an honest, proactive person.
Accept the opportunities that arise and always be learning.
How to connect with Pedro Melo…
You can connect with me on LinkedIn and Twitter!
Thanks for reading our chat with Pedro Melo! If you want to read more from our Industry Insider series, you can do so by clicking here.
