Reggie Bush ventured to Dallas where the 2011 Super Bowl was to take place. It was exactly two years earlier in Tampa where Bush was introduced as the first mainstream athlete under the Red Bull banner. The next year he would rush to even greater heights as he led the New Orleans Saints to the teams first Lombardi trophy. The Red Bull team followed Bush for a day as he made his way through radio row as well as other stops in advance of Super Sunday.
ProVentures is a sport and entertainment agency based in Historic Old Town Alexandria, Virginia. Here at ProVentures we don’t want to do business with you, we want to build business with you. With over 30 years experience in the sport and entertainment field, we have developed contacts and relationships essential for the development and implementation of a successful business venture for your company in this saturated marketplace. We believe in being a full-service agency, but more importantly, we pride ourselves on being a full-service solution.
Our clients use ProVenture’s hospitality platform to strengthen existing and new corporate relationships as well as creating incentive based “reward” experiences for employees who exhibit superior performance by providing them with access to unique and exciting events. Together with our clients, we develop and communicate the program objectives as well as provide a keen understanding of event options. We have the experience to develop strategic plans focused around sports and entertainment platforms ranging from one-time events, such as the Grammy Awards, to week long hospitality programs at The Masters.
ProVentures has a twenty-five year history of working with talent in the sports, music and entertainment worlds. Aligning your company’s brand or event with the right talent is our mission. We handle a range of procurement services ranging from negotiating endorsement and licensing rights to securing the appropriate individual for appearances or speaking engagements.
Activation starts with ideation and determining how to best leverage the existing assets and/or incorporate additional assets, we have helped negotiate, to build a comprehensive strategy to bring these assets to life. Talent endorsements, team sponsorships and event tickets provide a foundation for developing promotional programs for our clients that elevate their position in the market and differentiate them from their competitors.
ProVentures’ consulting services offers clients the opportunity to leverage our experience and expertise in sports and entertainment. We work hand-in-hand with clients in the areas of strategic planning, business development and industry-due-diligence to educate and develop programs on a retained annual basis. ProVentures also handles project work for specific tasks for a pre-determined timeframe.
With a wealth of strategic sports marketing experience specializing in both athlete marketing and hospitality, McGee founded ProVentures in 2007. Since its inception, the ProVentures team has negotiated endorsement agreements, created promotional activations and developed niche hospitality programs for brands such as Red Bull, TripAdvisor, Gillette, FedEx, BMW, and Hyundai.
McGee began his sports marketing career at Advantage International where he was a client manager in the tennis division and later added football representation to his resume. During this time, the company represented a host of top ten tennis players including world number one Steffi Graf. In 1997 the company was purchased by the InterPublic Group (IPG) and was eventually rebranded as Octagon. During this period, McGee was vice president of the athlete marketing division which was responsible for overseeing the marketing strategy and sales for over 400 athletes including such high profile clients as Anna Kournikova and Michael Vick with whom McGee worked directly. In 2003, McGee shifted his role to assist corporations in negotiating talent agreements and developing activation plans as well as major hospitality programs. McGee was responsible for representing these companies in their athlete partnerships as well including, Sprint / Peyton Manning, Vitamin Water / Ray Lewis and McGladrey / Zach Johnson.
McGee has been recognized twice by the SportsBusiness Journal for its “Forty Under 40” award. He has also been a member of the Board of Directors for Skinit.com and the Board of Advisors for the The Ivy Symposium and Champion Schools, a Phoenix, Arizona based charter school.
McGee received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Kentucky where he was also an All-Southeastern Conference selection on the tennis team. He currently resides in Arlington, Virginia.
Email: Patrick.McGee@ProVenturesGroup.com
Jerry Casselano joined the team at ProVentures in 2010. During his tenure at the agency, he has played an active role with many of the company’s clients serving as the Vice President of Corporate Hospitality. In his current role, he handles all aspects of ProVentures hospitality programs at major sporting events such as the Masters and the U.S. Open. He also manages coordination of all the logistics of multi-day corporate employee incentive reward trips at some of the best international resorts in the world. Casselano has also been closely involved with the development and implementation of ProVentures strategic activation programs with Red Bull, Hyundai, KFC, Blu Homes, and Presidio among others.
Prior to joining ProVentures, Casselano worked at Starbridge Media Group. During his time at the McLean, Virginia based company, he concentrated on sponsorship programs for the Washington Wizards and Verizon Center, while also focusing on his graduate studies in Sports Industry Management at Georgetown University.
After graduating from college, Casselano served as Director of Sales & Business Development at Coastal Cigars, helping to build the brand of the Charleston, South Carolina based wholesale distributor of high-end cigars. In his first two years with the company, he tripled the company’s gross revenue through innovative national sales programs that included luxury Las Vegas hotels such as the Bellagio, Venetian and Wynn Resorts; southeast regional supermarket campaigns featuring Bi-Lo, Harris Teeter and Piggly Wiggly; and successful celebrity charity events for Chris Webber, Jack Del Rio and Bad Boy Entertainment among others.
Jerry Casselano is a graduate of College of Charleston where he received a degree in Business Administration. He earned his M.S. in Sports Industry Management at Georgetown University.
Jerry is one of four children, including his twin Lauren. He resides in Washington, D.C.
Email: Jerry.Casselano@ProVenturesGroup.com
Joining ProVentures in 2010, Tami Bender serves as the bookkeeper and maintains all of the company’s financial records. Tami began her career as an accountant for the Construction Management Association before joining Octagon Financial Services, a global leader in providing financial services to professional athletes, as a client manager.
After leaving Octagon, she established Bender Financial Group, LLC which provides accounting and tax services to businesses and individuals in a broad variety of industries. Tami is an active member of her community, supporting a number of civic and philanthropic endeavors. She serves as a financial specialist for Alpha Phi International Fraternity, and as the treasurer for the University of Virginia Alpha Phi House Corp Board. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from San Diego State University.
Email: Tami.Bender@ProVenturesGroup.com
Have questions or just want to hang with the PV Crew? Give us a ring or come stop by the office.
