World Rugby Appoints Tom Hill
World Rugby has appointed Tom Hill as the governing body’s new chief commercial officer.
Hill joins from Manchester United, where he was global head of partnerships & operations, tasked with growing the club’s sponsorship revenues through the acquisition and retention of international partnerships.
A rugby fan, Hill has also held previous roles at the Rugby Football Union, the England Rugby Supporters’ Club and Saracens.
Hill starts his new role end of September and will be responsible for driving forward World Rugby’s commercial, broadcast and marketing strategies.
World Rugby chief executive Brett Gosper said of the appointment: “Tom’s exceptional track record with some of the biggest brands in sport is perfectly suited to World Rugby’s strategic mission to grow the global game through expanding and strengthening our commercial footprint, unlocking partner opportunities in new markets and inspiring new audiences through fan-first innovative broadcast and digital channels.
“Tom joins a strong and dynamic management team at a time of exceptional global growth, Rugby World Cup going from strength to strength with a record Worldwide Partner programme for the first tournament in Asia in 2019 and strong candidates for 2023, the growth of rugby sevens as an Olympic sport and more fans than ever before engaging with us and the sport through social media.”
Hill added: “I am delighted to be joining the experienced team at World Rugby. It is a sport that I am very passionate about and have grown up with, both playing and latterly coaching. I am excited about the depth and breadth of commercial opportunities for the sport, which will ultimately underpin accelerated global growth.
“The overwhelmingly positive reaction of sports fans and non-sports fans to rugby sevens’ debut at the Rio Olympic Games, especially among younger audiences in new markets and the explosive participation and interest growth in women’s rugby, is very exciting when considering the future commercial strategy.”
