Another day another recruit for the new-look Williams Racing F1 team following its sale to Dorilton Capital in summer of 2020.
The latest new recruit is James Bower who joins Williams as Commercial Director from McLaren where he spent 14 years, rising to the position of Head of Marketing and Commercial Strategy. There he was responsible for partner recruitment (and fair play to him, McLaren have performed admirably in this area despite a good few lean years!)
In the official statement announcing his arrival, Williams Racing also point to the role James played in McLaren better understanding its fanbase so that the teams’ sponsors and partners can maximise their involvement with the team.
Hopefully along with the increased value for partners and sponsors, James’ experience in understanding what fans want and how we behave in any given situation will also improve our experience as Williams supporters.
(It also talks about ‘partner activation’, ‘brand equity’ and ‘marketing strategy’ but I’m going to file them under ‘corporate nonsense’.)
It must be said that along with a steady flow of sponsors and partners, McLaren have done a wonderful job of engaging with its fans over the past few years – if Williams are able to replicate that then they’ll be doing very well indeed.
James Bower will report directly to Williams Racing CEO Jost Capito, who said of the appointment:
“We are thrilled to welcome James Bower to Williams Racing as Commercial Director. As we continue to grow our commercial and marketing offering, his appointment reflects the positive momentum we are building both on and off the track.”
“The appointment speaks to the team’s ambition to further develop its commercial activities, in part by ensuring the expansion of effective and long-lasting partnerships that deliver value to both parties. He joins us with a wealth of valuable experience, and I look forward to seeing what he can achieve.”
Ultimately, if James Bower’s remit is to engage with fans and to bring investment into the team and he’s successful we get a fully invested and engaged fanbase, more financial investment in the team which in turn should equate to better results and as a consequence happy fans.
No pressure James, but your job is to ensure our happiness, so good luck to you!
It has to be said though, his Williams profile photo does him absolutely no favours whatsoever, looking part Daniil Kvyat, part Richard E. Grant, part vampire and 100% privately educated. Not that there’s anything wrong with any of those things in isolation y’understand, it’s just quite a ‘mélange’ when you see them all together!
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