gemba expands with key appointments

Sport and entertainment strategists gemba have made two key appointments to their team.

Jason Rance has been appointed to the position of Head of Entertainment Marketing while Aaron Lake joins gemba's recently formed Venues and Facilities Division as a Senior Strategy Consultant.

To be based in Sydney, Rance joins gemba with a broad range of sport, consulting and international experience, most recently having worked for Speedo International (UK) in the role of Global VP Marketing.

In this role Rance was responsible for brand strategy across 173 markets, led a team of 40 and reported directly to the Speedo International board. He was responsible for leading the London 2012 Olympic project and the leveraging of key federation, event and athlete sponsorships including Michael Phelps.

Rance also led the development of global digital and social media campaigns while in this role. Prior to this role, he was the Global Head of Strategy & Advanced Innovation at Speedo and was responsible for the brands innovation strategy.

Before joining Speedo, he amassed a broad range of experience in the apparel industry and the consulting industry. Rance was the Associate Director as Kroll Inc (a leading risk consulting company) and before that at Marakon Associates where he worked with leading FMCG brands to help them with growth strategies. Prior to Speedo, Jason was the VP Operations and co-founder of TexYard, which developed a web based supply chain management software application for major apparel retailers and owners.

Aaron Lake's arrival at gemba follows the launch of its Venues and Facilities Division in December last year and, according to Group Director and Chief Executive Rob Mills "signals gemba's intent on being an industry leader in sport, leisure and entertainment venue and facility management, planning and development consulting."

Lake joins gemba with over 10 years of industry experience in venue and facility planning and development, most recently, as a Senior Consultant at Coffey Sport and Leisure.

He has has been involved in venue and facility related projects such as stadium feasibility studies, master planning for integrated community facilities, and business planning for state sporting centres.

Prior to Coffey, Aaron was State Facilities Consultant with Sport and Recreation Victoria, Major Projects.

Speaking of Lake's appointment, Rob Mills adds "we're really excited by the growth of the division and believe that Aaron is a great addition to the Venues and Facilities team.

"We're focused on proving a unique offering and the market has responded well in such a short period.

"We know that combining industry experts such as Aaron and ... Division Manager Chris Beattie with our consumer research program provides an industry leading point of difference, and unsolicited approaches demonstrate that clients and the broader market want to explore a new ways of thinking.

"In 2012, the gemba Active Sports Participation - gASP - study will be able to profile participation characteristics at a local government level. gemba clients will not only understand how many people participate in sports but how often, their motivations, barriers and preferred place of participation. This type of information will be a valuable resource to our Venues and Facilities team."

Gemba advises sport, leisure and entertainment organisations, local and state governments, and facility owners and operators leading to improved management, investment and development decisions across the complete facility lifecycle.

Gemba recently completed a study on New Zealander's passion for rugby union and how this heightened even further during the Rugby World Cup. 

For further information call 03 9526 5710, www.thegembagroup.com

Image courtesy of the International Rugby Board.

5th April 2012 - RESEARCH SHOWS THE EFFECT OF THE RUGBY WORLD CUP ON KIWIS’ PASSION FOR RUGBY

5th January 2012 - GEMBA ANNOUNCES NEW VENUES AND FACILITIES DIVISION