Brian Sims

summary

Brian Sims is one of international motorsport’s most experienced and successful exponents of sponsorship acquisition, having personally secured sports sponsorship deals totalling in excess of £50 million, in a colourful career spanning nearly 30 years.
Brian’s career in sport included 11 years as a championship-winning professional racing driver, both in the UK and in South Africa. He also became the Marketing Director of the Kyalami F1 Grand Prix Circuit in South Africa.  After retiring as a driver, Brian established South Africa’s first-ever professional motor-racing school, securing substantial sponsorship deals in the process.

biography

Brian Sims is one of international motorsport’s most experienced and successful exponents of sponsorship acquisition, having personally secured sports sponsorship deals totalling in excess of £50 million, in a colourful career spanning nearly 30 years.

His book “ SPORTS SPONSORSHIP: GETTING YOUR SHARE “ was launched in December 2004 and is already receiving a high level of interest, both from the sports sector internationally, as well as the media.

Brian’s career in sport included 11 years as a championship-winning professional racing driver, both in the UK and in South Africa. He also became the Marketing Director of the Kyalami F1 Grand Prix Circuit in South Africa.  After retiring as a driver, Brian established South Africa’s first-ever professional motor-racing school, securing substantial sponsorship deals in the process.

On returning to England, Brian established the MIA (Motorsport Industry Association), securing sponsorship from Andersen Consulting, Hewlett Packard and Ford Motor Company. This was the very first trade association established to represent the British motorsport industry. The industry is today worth in excess of £5 billion per year, employing more than 40,000 people on a full time basis. Today the MIA has over 300 member companies, representing nearly 75% of the industry’s turnover. It was recently described in Business F1 magazine as being the second most powerful motorsport organisation globally.

Having founded the MIA, Brian moved back into the world of sponsorship and became the Head of Motorsport for the international API Agency, owned by Alan Pascoe, now Vice President of London’s Olympic Bid Committee. The agency represented the Benetton Formula 1 Team and within 12 months of joining, Brian secured over $14,000,000 of sponsorship for the Team from blue chip companies, such as FedEx and Gillette.

He went on to become the Benetton F1 Team Commercial Director, reporting directly to Rocco Benetton, until the company’s sale to Renault in 2000.

Brian now runs his own sponsorship training and marketing consultancy, Sports Marketing Skills. The consultancy represents Team Nasamax, an international motor racing team that in 2004, became the first team ever to complete the world-famous Le Mans 24 Hours using a wholly renewable fuel, bio-ethanol.

Brian is also an accomplished sports broadcaster and professional speaker, relating his experiences acquiring sponsorship in the in the highly competitive world of international motorsport, where he became one of its most successful sales exponents. Combining many of his amusing and interesting experiences in international motorsport with an insight into ways that the business side of Formula 1 functions, Brian is an excellent choice for entertaining and motivating audiences at a range of events:

· Sales Conferences
· Product Launches
· Training Seminars
· VIP Functions
· Corporate Hospitality Events
· Sports Functions

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Testimonials

“Brian’s presentation was both extremely interesting and entertaining. He linked the commercial aspects of running a Formula 1 team with the business interests of our audience in a highly innovative and effective manner”
Isabell Majewsky
Director of CONNECT West Midlands

“Brian kept an audience of our high-profile VIP business customers enthralled and entertained by talking about the ways in which the business side of Formula 1 operates.”
Paul Evans
European marketing Director
FedEx

“I just wanted to thank you for being a key Speaker at the second Motorpsort and Business Seminar hosted in Sao Paolo by the British Ambassador to Brazil. The feedback we have received from the Seminar has been constantly positive with particular praise for your presentation in the morning and afternoon.”
Chris Aylett
C.E.O.
Motorsport Industry Association

“Brian has now been the Keynote Speaker at two of our Business Club events for corporate VIP’s from the region. The way in which he took the audience behind the scenes of Formula 1 and talked about it as a business, not just a sport, was lapped up by our guests. He really brought the subject to life for them in an entertaining way”.
Carole Devonshire
Sales Director
Bath Spa Hotel

We have had an excellent response from those who attended your presentation saying how much they enjoyed the event, particularly your performance as our guest speaker. I must admit that I so enjoyed listening to you that I completely forgot to be nervous when I got up to speak!
Gary Atyes
Corporate Sales Director
Norton Way Honda

Thank you for a really entertaining and interesting presentation yesterday at the All Party MP’s and Peers Conference which we held at Silverstone. We have received a high level of positive feedback for the way in which you talked about the business of Formula 1.
Richard Scammel O.B.E.
Managing Director Cosworth Engineering

“Very well presented, relaxed approach – excellent”
Russell Parrott
Racecourse Manager, Leicester Racecourse

“Superb speaker both in terms of content and presentation – very beneficial”  James Oldring
Sponsorship Executive, The British Horseracing Board

“This was an eye opener, and provoked thoughts as to my own proposals.  A good opening speaker for the day”
Ben Gibson
Sales and Marketing Manager, Sandown Park Racecourse

“Interesting views, very strong presentation giving lots of food for thought” 
Pat Masterson
Racecourse Manager, Newton Abbot Racecourse