LISBON, Portugal (Friday, November 30, 2018) - The WSL is pleased to announce the appointment of Francisco Spinola as General Manager for EMEA. Widely-recognized for his long-standing contribution to the development of professional surfing in Portugal, Spinola has a fantastic track record in delivering effective, multi-year partnerships with both brands and partners in the European region.
"Attracting top talent that is able to work even more closely with existing stakeholders and develop new relationships for surfing is important for the WSL, and we're delighted to welcome Francisco to our team as General Manager for EMEA," Sophie Goldschmidt, WSL CEO, said. "We've had the good fortune to work with Francisco in a variety of capacities over the years and having him head up the region overseeing partnerships, marketing, event operations and supporting KSWC developments will further strengthen our position across Europe, the Middle East and Africa."
A lifelong surfer and former competitor, Spinola previously worked directly with Rip Curl in bringing elite Championship Tour events to Portugal. He worked in the non-endemic industry, but dreamed of pursuing a career in the surfing world. Most of his life decisions were inspired by surfing, including moving to Sydney to do an MBA. Portugal Tourism has become a major WSL partner in Europe, and Spinola and his team have been producing all major WSL events from WCTs, QS10000s to Big Wave Tour events in the country.
"I am thrilled and looking forward to the challenges of the role," Spinola said. "Definitely recognizing that EMEA is an enormous highly complex region with lots of countries, different languages and cultures. I consider that a strong knowledge of each market is vital. Therefore, we will need to maintain and identify more great partners to further develop a WSL presence in those countries. I believe that my experience as a long time WSL partner will help to further develop our business and further grow the WSL and surfing in the EMEA region".
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