On Friday 23 April 2021 The All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), which stages The Championships, Wimbledon, announced the appointment of Gus Henderson as Commercial Director, as from 1st August 2021. The appointment concludes the recruitment process for two roles to succeed Mick Desmond.
Gus joins the AELTC with over 20 years’ experience working across commercial partnerships and media distribution in sport, music and entertainment. His most recent role was Head of New Business & Brands, South East Asia & Korea for Universal Music Group.
As Commercial Director, he will be responsible for driving revenue growth in line with the values, brand vision and philosophy of the AELTC. This includes continuing to build and foster authentic partnerships, alongside the commercial exploitation of the marketing and brand vision for Wimbledon.
Prior to joining Universal Music Group in 2017, Gus was Vice President, Head of Sales, Asia Pacific, for WME / IMG, based in Hong Kong, and before that with WWE as International Sponsorship Director based in London.
The appointment concludes the extensive external recruitment process for these two roles further to the announcement that Mick Desmond, the AELTC’s Commercial & Media Director, will be retiring following the conclusion of The Championships 2021. The period of handover will begin in late May 2021, alongside the current team’s broader focus on delivering a successful Championships in 2021 under Desmond’s leadership.
Gus will work closely together with Alexandra Willis, who also takes up her role as the AELTC’s Communications & Marketing Director from 1st August. Alexandra is currently employed as the Head of Communications, Content and Digital at the AELTC, and has championed the development of the AELTC’s award-winning digital, marketing and communications strategies over the past decade, resulting in a transformation of the AELTC’s reputation.
As Communications & Marketing Director, she will be responsible for communications, marketing and the brand vision for The Championships, with the ambition to grow reach, exposure, and engagement of and with Wimbledon to a global audience. This will include audience development and engagement, content development and creation and enhancing and promoting Wimbledon’s reputation.