Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta announced at the UFC 118 post-fight press conference that Mark Fischer has been hired as Executive Vice-President and Managing Director of UFC Asia.
A sports industry veteran, Fischer has spent the past 20 years working in Asia. Most recently, in 2009, he founded Sports & Entertainment Asia Ltd (SEA), which provides strategic marketing and representation services to sports properties seeking opportunities in China and other Asian markets. Prior to establishing SEA, Fischer worked for 12 years at the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he served as Senior Vice President and Managing Director of NBA Asia and was responsible for the development of the NBA’s businesses and operations throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
From 2003 to 2008, Fischer led the NBA’s explosive growth in China, overseeing the expansion of the league’s branding and basketball development initiatives in China. During this period, Fischer built NBA China’s on-ground operations in Beijing and Shanghai and cultivated more than 20 marketing partnerships with leading multinational and domestic brands. He spearheaded a full range of on-ground events such as the NBA China Games and other integrated media and marketing initiatives as well as established the NBA’s groundbreaking partnership with the Beijing Olympic Basketball Arena. These achievements, in combination with his pivotal role in a $253 million investment road show, led to the establishment of NBA China in late 2007 as a separate corporate entity valued at more than $2 billion.
Fischer joined the NBA and established NBA Taiwan, Ltd. in 1997 before being promoted to Senior Director of Marketing Partnerships and Events for NBA Asia, Ltd., a regional position headquartered in Hong Kong, in 1999.
Before his position with the NBA, Fischer worked as Vice President of Richina Media Holdings Ltd. in Beijing, where he established an advertising and sports marketing agency and launched Chinese editions of several foreign content publications.
Payout Perspective:
The UFC continues to gobble up as much talent outside the Octagon as it does inside the Octagon. Last year, the UFC tapped Digital Royalty’s Amy Martin as lead consultant for the company’s social media strategy. In May, the organization added former CFL commissioner and Adidas executive Tom Wright to spearhead its Canadian effort. Now, Fischer and his wealth of Chinese experience have been added to the fold.
There are only so many hours in a day. Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta can’t be everywhere and do everything for the UFC. Perhaps more importantly, Dana and Lorenzo cannot hope to understand the many nuances and complexities of every international market they’re seeking to enter. That’s why these moves are so important.
Kudos to White, Fertitta, and the UFC for having the wisdom to find and hire local market experts. Fischer may or may not know the MMA game, but I’m sure he’ll learn just as Tom Wright has.
I know a lot of MMA fans won’t see this as some huge announcement but this move is huge in the big picture of things. Very interested to see how things develop in that region now.
yeah the ufc needs to come to san antonio tx, please bring a good fight card like anderson silva,or brock lesnar, it will sell out fo sho!!!!
It sounds like another amazing choice of personnel at Zuffa. Finding quality managers and then letting them work at what they do well is precisely what keeps businesses from turning into bureaucratic nightmares. As the Asian market is supremely important to the plans for global expansion, Zuffa could little afford to get it wrong. It sounds as if Mr. Fischer has the knowledge and experience to propel the company to become the powerhouse in Asia that it has become in the West.
I agree, on the surface, this isn’t anything for a fan to get too excited about. In the big picture, this is an excellent choice, Fischers’ resume speaks for itself. This along with the connections Flash Entertainment bring into the fold will speed the UFC China expansion up a few notches. This is why Zuffa are the industry leaders, they know how to recognize talent and arent afraid to pay for it.