London-based Sports Betting Community Ltd. (SBC) has confirmed the permanent appointment of Jaap Kalma as its new Group Chief Commercial Officer.
“We are delighted to welcome Jaap into SBC,” SBC founder and CEO Rasmus Sojmark said in a statement. “He brings with him a wealth of knowledge, skills and capabilities that we expect will help the company grow for years to come. This is a very exciting time for SBC as we continue to grow on a global scale.”
Kalma has been working with SBC for the past four months in an interim role as its Business Development Director, overseeing the company’s growth into the sports sponsorship industry. He had already partnered with SBC to launch the SBC Sponsorship Forum at last year’s Betting on Football event at Stamford Bridge.
“Having worked with Rasmus and the team for a while now, it is extremely exciting to be joining SBC in a permanent role,” Kalma said. “SBC has grown rapidly with the expansion of its news sites and the success of its conference and exhibition events in the UK and Betting on Sports America in New Jersey last month. I look forward to helping the company continue on its successful path in the future.”
Kalma was previously the Chief Commercial Officer at AC Milan, the second most successful club in European Club history, where he was responsible for marketing, commercial revenues and global development.
Prior to that, Kalma was Global Brand Director at luxury sports car manufacturer Ferrari. He he also spent over a decade at consumer goods multinational Unilever. He holds an MBA from Stanford University.
Kalma will now undertake the CCO role for the Sport Global Group, overseeing the sales and marketing teams for all businesses within the group including SBC News, SBC Events, Esports Insider, Affiliate Insider and the social prediction gaming platform Oddslife.