MKTG Sports + Entertainment Australia arm has announced a series of strategic leadership appointments, including new general manager of commercial, Michael da Costa-Alves, new chief of staff, Briana Doyle, and the promotion of Dominique Down to head of integrated strategy.

The moves see the dentsu Sports International aligned agency extend its growth across Australia, as the agency also announced Steven Cheung as senior insights manager, Meg McCarroll as senior sponsorship consultant, Brad Newcombe as national sports delivery manager, and Iliyas Hafiz as business integration manager.

Announcing the hires, MKTG Sports + Entertainment APAC managing director, Matt Connell, said: “Despite all of the challenges we faces as an industry throughout 2021, our realignment to dentsu Sport International has been a significant step forward for our business in Australia.”

“The alignment and support have enabled our team to deliver one of the strongest performances in our company history, allowing for further investment in our talent and offering.

“I could not be prouder of what this team has accomplished and what is yet to come in 2022,” Connell said.

In his new role, former Cricket Australia head of commercial partnerships da Costa-Alves, will lead the Melbourne and Sydney offices in commercial rights management for organisations such as the AFL, Cricket Australia, Football Australia, World Surf League, and the Victoria Racing Club.

Michael da Costa-Alves MKTG

“I’m really excited to join the talented team at MKTG and have the opportunity to work with their enviable roster of Australia’s leading sports rights holders,” da Costa-Alves said.

“Having worked closely with them during my time at Cricket Australia, I have been impressed with the way the business has evolved, and I’m looking forward to working with the passionate team to help drive the next era of growth through insight, creativity, and leading-edge technology,” he said.

da Costa-Alves is set to join MKTG’s executive management team in Melbourne following his appointment, with the team now consisting of Connell, da Costa-Alves, Mike Lewis, Jarrad Provis, and Stephanie Rudnick.

On the appointment of Doyle as chief of staff, set to lead the development and execution of operational excellence priorities, Connell said: “Briana is someone I have personally respected for over a decade, having worked in close partnership with her over many years.”

“She is a strong and determined leader who, even in her early tenure, has already made a huge impression and impact across our whole business and will be critical in supporting our growth agenda focused on operational excellence.

“With over 17 years experience, Briana has extensive knowledge of the sport industry, particularly when it comes to relationship engagement, contract negotiation, best-in-class partnership strategy and activation, Doyle will play a pivotal role across all facets of MKTG Sports and Entertainment,” he said.