Playing to Win: The New Playbook for Financial Brands in Sports

Tom Cerasoli is a seasoned executive with 21 years of experience shaping partnerships across the sports, entertainment, and brand management landscapes. As the Head of Sponsorship & Partnership Management for Citi, he directs a global portfolio of high-profile properties spanning sports, entertainment, arts, culture, and thought leadership. His team collaborates across all of Citi’s business lines to create and execute marketing activations that drive business growth and elevate the company’s brand.

Before joining Citi, Tom was a part of the Global Partnerships team at Oak View Group, where he was instrumental in building the sports and music partnership portfolio for the new UBS Arena and the New York Islanders.  In this capacity, he shaped sales strategies, managed the partnership pipeline, and developed innovative platforms.  His extensive experience in the industry also includes an eight-year stint at The Madison Square Garden Company, where he managed a diverse array of sports and entertainment partnerships across all their owned and operated properties.

Tom began his career at Team Epic (formerly Velocity Sports & Entertainment), where he honed his skills by providing strategic sponsorship counsel to leading global brands, helping them activate their marketing and partnership initiatives.

He holds a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University, as well as an MBA and a Master of Science in Sport Management from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Kimberlee Mertz is a Managing Director and Head of Brand and Marketing for the Investment Bank, based in New York. Ms. Mertz joined Barclays in 2005 and is responsible for managing and developing strategic brand initiatives and integrated marketing campaigns for the Investment Bank globally. Leading a team of marketing specialists across Asia, Europe, and the United States, she is responsible for ensuring all of the Investment Bank’s marketing efforts are coordinated with regional and global efforts across Barclays while aligning to group-wide Barclays brand strategy.

At Barclays she has led the rebrand of the former Lehman Brothers to Barclays Capital and the re-brand of Barclays Capital to Barclays; created and executed large scale and award-winning brand building campaigns and managed brand strategy and activation for US sponsorships including The Barclays Center, Phil Mickelson, Barclays Center, and most recently WNBA Liberty.

Ms. Mertz previously spent nine years at Deutsche Bank where she was Head of Advertising and Brand Management, Americas. In that role, she managed and developed the advertising and branding for Deutsche Bank’s business in the Americas, including the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Matthew Slivinski is a Managing Director and the Global Head of Marketing at Carlyle. Mr. Slivinski leads the firm’s brand and marketing efforts, focused on driving client engagement and business growth through innovative brand, digital and content marketing strategies.

Prior to joining Carlye, Mr. Slivinski served as Global Head of Marketing Strategy for Barclays Investment Bank. In this role, he was responsible for all aspects of integrated marketing strategy and execution. His work has been awarded for creative and strategic excellence, including global brand-building campaigns and sports sponsorship activations for Barclays Center, Wimbledon and the WNBA’s NY Liberty team. Previously, Mr. Slivinski worked at Lehman Brothers in Marketing.

Mr. Slivinski received a BS in Political Science from the University of Scranton, where he graduated with honors. He is an active member of the Financial Communications Society, Gramercy Institute, International Advertising Association and sits on The New York Times Advertising Product Council.