James Southerland
VP Partnerships in London, United Kingdom
James Southerland
VP Partnerships in London, United Kingdom
With over 25 years of international marketing and sponsorship experience in the business of elite motorsport, I am a strategic partnerships marketer who is passionate about driving value and commercial success for brands and rights-holders in performance sport. I am currently the Head of Partnerships at Williams Racing, one of the most iconic and successful teams in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.
A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Marketing (FCIM) with a Modern Languages background, having majored in Russian & German, I have developed my career at the intersection of sport, technology, business and sustainability, working with some of the biggest brands in the world whilst at Groupe PSA (now part of Stellantis), McLaren, and Virgin. I also founded my own motorsport consultancy, Formula Marketing, to offer insights and support to clients in performance sport to drive increased value and commercial success.
In my current role, I lead the partnership activation and strategy of Williams Racing's incumbent commercial partnerships, with a focus on delivering meaningful ROI and maximising the value of their sponsorship investments. I am proud to be part of a renewed and re-energised vision for the team under new owners, Dorilton Capital, to position Williams as best in class.