Haas F1 Team Names Adam Jacobs CMO
Jacobs comes to Haas F1 Team from Anheuser-Busch where he was the sports marketing manager for the company's Budweiser brand in NASCAR and the Bud Light brand in the NFL and college sports. In that role, Jacobs oversaw sponsorship programs collectively valued in the billions, which included Budweiser's sponsorship of Kevin Harvick in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series and the Bud Light Hotel during Super Bowl XLVIII in New York City.
"Adam came highly recommended to Haas F1 Team and he brings a wealth of sports marketing experience to our organization," said Joe Custer, chief operating officer, Haas F1 Team. "The projects Adam has overseen are global in scope, involving numerous partners and constituencies. He's built great relationships during his career and we're proud to have him at Haas F1 Team."
Jacobs has amassed extensive experience in and around the sports industry within the corporate, property, agency and academic settings. Prior to his role at Anheuser-Busch, Jacobs joined the NFL's St. Louis Rams in 2006 as director of marketing before becoming the team's vice president in 2009. He has also held positions at the Indy Racing League, General Motors R*Works, Washington Mutual Bank and the Miami Fusion of Major League Soccer. Jacobs has been a member of the Sports Business Advisory Board at Saint Louis University since 2008 and has been an adjunct professor of sports business at the school since 2010.
"It's a great opportunity to develop and launch a global brand in an organization led by someone as driven and accomplished as Gene Haas," Jacobs said. "With strong support and leadership already in place, Haas F1 Team is clearly positioned for success. I look forward to helping shape the ways we achieve that success on and off the racetrack."
Jacobs graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1998 and is a member of the university's Hall of Fame, one of the most prestigious honors awarded to students by the Division of Student Affairs.
Haas F1 Team is currently preparing for its on-track debut in 2016. Haas Automation, Inc., the CNC machine tool builder Haas F1 Team chairman Gene Haas founded in 1983, will serve as the team's primary sponsor. However, Jacobs is positioning the team to partner with other high-profile brands that desire to reach a global audience.
"One of our key objectives as the only American F1 team is to help grow the sport domestically," Jacobs said. "With the massive global reach of Formula One, Haas F1 Team is also uniquely positioned to provide a platform for brands seeking to grow their businesses in key markets abroad."
While the 2016 Formula One season is more than a year out, preparation for Haas F1 Team's debut is well underway. Work is nearing completion on an 11.600 square-meter (125,000 square-foot) facility adjacent to Haas' NASCAR team in Kannapolis, North Carolina, that will house the Haas F1 Team. Construction is scheduled to be completed in late November.
In addition to Haas F1 Team, Haas' motorsports holdings include Stewart-Haas Racing and Windshear.
Stewart-Haas Racing is the title-winning NASCAR Sprint Cup Series team co-owned by Haas and three-time Sprint Cup champion Tony Stewart. It fields four entries – the No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet for Stewart, the No. 10 GoDaddy Chevrolet for Danica Patrick, the No. 4 Budweiser/Jimmy John's Chevrolet for Kevin Harvick and the No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet for Kurt Busch – and operates out of a 13.000 square-meter (140,000 square-foot) facility with approximately 270 employees. Stewart-Haas Racing won the 2011 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship with Stewart and is in championship contention again in 2014 with Harvick.
Windshear is a 290 kph (180 mph) rolling-road wind tunnel in Concord, North Carolina, that is the first of its kind in North America. Founded by Haas, it is only the third rolling-road wind tunnel of its scale in existence and the world's first commercially available, full-scale, rolling-road wind tunnel. Windshear is available for hire to all motorsports teams and auto manufacturers. NASCAR, INDYCAR, sports car and NHRA teams utilize Windshear, as does the United States Council for Automotive Research (USCAR), which has conducted tests on production cars at Windshear.