ORLANDO, Fla. (Jan. 28, 2019) - Orlando City SC appoints Pedro Franklin de Araujo as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Brand. Araujo will report directly to Chief Executive Officer Alex Leitão leading the brand and marketing strategy for the Club, its teams and its facilities.
“Pedro is a very important hire for our organization,” said Leitão. “We felt we’ve laid a good foundation to establish ourselves in an exciting and very fast-growing sports league in this country and, with Pedro, we’ve brought in a thought leader in the brand and marketing space who brings a fresh perspective to lead us through the next growth phase for the organization.”
Araujo comes to Orlando from Stamford, Conn., where he most recently held the Account Director position at Octagon, one of the world's largest sports and entertainment agencies with 55 offices in 22 countries.
In his six years with the agency, Araujo led marketing and sponsorship activation strategy and creative planning for Fortune 500 companies with a strong focus on insight-driven consumer engagement and brand/sponsorship asset management. His sports marketing pedigree includes two FIFA World Cup™ tournaments and two Olympic Games. For the past two years, he worked closely with Major League Soccer (MLS) and the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) on partnership marketing activations for major sponsors.
The Campinas, Brazil native holds an international management degree from Dominican College of Blauvelt in Orangeburg, N.Y. He is fluent in English and Portuguese.
“I am thrilled to join Orlando City SC and grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with a very talented group of people in delivering memorable experiences to our fans and building a lasting legacy in this community,” added Araujo. “I plan to integrate myself and take time to analyze where we are to best approach our strategy and overall brand direction for years to come.”
Orlando City SC is set to launch its fifth season in MLS and Orlando Pride will play its fourth in the National Women’s Soccer League in 2019. The Club will launch Orlando City B in the newly-established USL League One in March, helping bridge the youth development gap for talented players in Central Florida.
In addition, the Club’s privately-owned stadium will host the 2019 MLS All-Star Game presented by Target this summer in the heart of downtown. Orlando City SC has also announced plans to fully renovate its new training complex at Osceola Heritage Park in 2019.
