The SailGP team in the United States has appointed mega-producer DJ Khaled as the newest member of its board of directors. The Grammy Award winner will represent the organization and help the team make strategic business decisions related to the league.
“Our goal is to bring SailGP into the mainstream and mainstream into SailGP,” US SailGP team CEO Mike Buckley said in an interview with the American press.
SailGP, the new attraction of the stars
The well-known musician joins a board that also includes Buckley, the famous Alpine Skiing World Cup winner Lindsey Vonn, the president of the US SailGP team, Ryan McKillen, and the CEO of Avenue Capital Group, Marc Lasry. Khaled, one of the music industry’s most prominent hit producers, will be working with SailGP to find ways to attract new fans while leveraging existing relationships with SailGP partners such as T-Mobile and Tommy Hilfiger.
“At the end of the day, it’s about expanding the audience,” said Buckley, a two-time world champion navigator. „He has 40 million people following him on Instagram. He is doing something right. So if we can learn small lessons about how he created such a community, that would be huge for us.”
US SailGP, one of the 12 national teams
The Americans are one of the 12 national teams in the global league. The news of Khaled’s appointment comes just days after the league announced a partnership with Roc Nation International, which will make Khaled the league’s director of hype for next season’s U.S. events. Khaled, who is managed by Jay-Z’s Roc Nation, will have his first meeting with US SailGP as an official member of the Board of Directors later this month.
For Khaled, such involvement is nothing new. He was recently an ambassador for the Ryder Cup golf competition, and last year launched a unique golf challenge with Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon on NBC. Cardigan Classic: Fallon vs. Khaled was held in September in Lake Tahoe, Nev. Miami Heat superfan has also partnered with the likes of Jordan Brand, Gatorade, and EA Sports.
The U.S. Sail GP ownership group is led by the Lasry’s Avenue Sports Fund (along with Buckley and McKillen), and the list of special partners includes actor Issa Rae, heavyweight boxer Deontay Wilder, and American football players DeAndre Hopkins and linebacker Kayvon Thibodeaux. Former American football star Jozy Altidore, linebacker Dallas Turner, and VaynerMedia CEO Gary Vaynerchuk are also involved in the project. The diverse ownership group completed the acquisition of the US SailGP team in 2023.
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