Riptide Partners, a newly launched consulting business offering a full service Customer Experience (CX) solution for sports teams and venue operators, today named veteran executive Neil Davis as its first head of sales. Davis has more than 30 years of business, media and sales experience at some of the world’s hallmark brands known for innovation and customer service, most recently executive vice president at Pac-12 Networks/Conference. He joins the company this month after serving in a business consulting role for the company since January.
“I am very excited by the approach Riptide is taking to the sports and entertainment space,” Davis said.“The Riptide solution will enable a better guest experience and improved profitability. We have the potential to positively impact the lives of millions that will redefine the experience for every property in our industry.”
“Neil’s business acumen, his professionalism and his recognition as an industry expert is invaluable to us as we start moving Riptide forward,” co-founder Rob Comstock added. “He has the relationships and the reputation that is a great fit for us, and we are looking forward to having him lead our expanded sales efforts forward in the coming years.”
Founded in 2018 by former Madison Square Garden Company Chief Operating Officer Comstock and MSG SVP of Customer Experience Paul Klass, Riptide Partners are the only firm in the space to be able to offer Medallia, the leading customer experience management cloud software platform, packaged into a full-service solution to customers in the sports and entertainment space. Riptide and Medallia will enable bottom-line improvement and a customer centric culture driven from real-time guest feedback.
As a senior executive with sales management experience in Sports and Entertainment including television, radio, digital/social and sponsorships, Davis has spent more than 30 years creating strong business partnerships. Prior to his joining Riptide Partners, he held the position of executive vice president at Pac-12 Networks/Conference overseeing everything from pricing, planning and strategic partnerships for regional and national networks, digital and social media sales and fifteen championship events. Earlier Neil served as general sales manager of Fox Sports Florida/Sun Sports overseeing both local and national sales and was chief revenue officer at Brooklyn Sports + Entertainment. While at Brooklyn S+E, he oversaw advertising sales for the Barclays Center. All these achievements followed 20 years at Madison Square Garden where Neil earned a solid foundation for the business and rose to executive vice president of advertising sales for MSG Network and MSG properties.
Cover Image: Unsplash/Artur Matosyan