Wasserman Hires Brand Creation And Licensing Executive Marisela Rodriguez And Event Creation Executive Todd Palmerton

Global sports, music, and culture agency Wasserman has hired Marisela Rodriguez as Vice President, Brand Creation & Licensing and Todd Palmerton as Vice President, Event Creation & Management, announced today by Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President, Talent Jason Ranne and Senior Vice President, Operations, Music Joe Rosenberg.

Rodriguez, who will work out of Wasserman’s Brooklyn office, and Palmerton, based in the San Francisco Bay Area, formally began their roles last week. Rodriguez will oversee the consumer product and brand licensing strategies for Wasserman, while Palmerton will focus on ideating, developing, launching, and managing live events on behalf of Wasserman’s sports talent clients and music artists globally.

“Marisela and Todd expand and strengthen our industry-best service offerings to sports talent clients and music artists, each bringing decades of high-level experience and proven work in the sports, entertainment, and marketing spaces,” said Ranne.

“Marisela’s history of success with building and licensing brands will strengthen our ability to create these types of opportunities for our clients, and Todd’s extensive experience creating events with strong intellectual property value will help our clients create and own special live experiences to engage their fans,” said Rosenberg.

Prior to Wasserman, Rodriguez worked for Major League Baseball, where she served as Director of Hard Goods, responsible for conceptualizing product line development, brand extensions and business strategy for all 30 teams through relationships with top industry leaders including Fanatics, New Era, and Yeti. Before joining MLB in May 2017, Rodriguez served as Director of Toys & Games at Nickelodeon, where she was instrumental in building robust licensing programs for properties like Dora, SpongeBob, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. She also led new business development and strategic alliances for out-licensing brand names for incremental revenue and exposure, including partners like Fisher Price, Just Play, Leapfrog, and Vtech.

“Wasserman’s roster of athletes and artists is diverse, expansive, and rich with opportunities to creatively strategize in regard to consumer products on a global scale,” said Rodriguez. “My background in entertainment and consumer products is an organic fit and perfect match with the sports clients and music artists who are part of the Wasserman family. I’m thrilled to join Team Wass, and excited to get started.”

Most recently, Palmerton worked at Live Nation, where he was Vice President of Business Development, responsible for expanding platforms and monetary streams for music festivals and assisting with international live distribution models. Prior to Live Nation, Palmerton was the Sr. Global Director of Live Music for Red Bull, responsible for shaping Red Bull’s brand image in music through global marketing campaigns, experiential event series, live broadcasts, content creation, and partnerships with complementary brands. Palmerton began his career as a music manager for Deckstar Management in Beverly Hills (now part of YMU Group) and enjoyed a successful career as a music promoter and multi-venue owner/operator in San Francisco. He is a Seattle native who currently resides in Marin County, California with his wife and two children.

“I look forward to working hand in glove with my colleagues to bring sports and music together through innovative events that build commerce for our talent clients and raise awareness for Wasserman’s differentiating approach to the business,” said Palmerton. “Rarely do you find a company that puts its clients above everything, while maintaining values that celebrate progress and that rewards its employees for driving innovation and pushing culture forward.”

Throughout its 20-year history, Wasserman has deliberately and strategically grown its worldwide presence through both targeted acquisitions and organic growth, establishing itself as one of the world's leading companies in the areas of sports and music talent representation, and brands and properties consultancy.

About Wasserman:

Wasserman is a partner to the world’s most iconic sports figures, musical artists, and brands and properties. Our purpose is to transform and advance brands, businesses, and careers, empowering clients to create culture and impact audiences.

Wasserman’s elite sports talent representation practice encompasses athletes, broadcasters, coaches, sport executives, and influencers who play integral roles across every major global sport, spanning six continents.

Wasserman Music represents a world-class roster of artists for live performance, touring, brand partnerships, and beyond, empowering them to create culture and impact audiences globally. The passionate, entrepreneurial agents at Wasserman Music are long-term artist development strategists who build significant, global platforms for the world's most influential artists.

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