JSB collaborator Ross Kennerly has more than 20 years of experience developing, valuing and negotiating corporate partnerships in every sector of the sponsorship industry from all sides of the relationship, including property, agency and brand. In 2022, he founded QUANT LLC, a sponsorship consultancy committed to reinventing how properties and sponsors value corporate partnerships by incorporating modern data science into the valuation process. Ross is also the host of False Market Value, an industry podcast that analyzes fictional sponsorship agreements from movies, television and other pop culture. To date, Ross has generated more than $775 million in sponsorship and associated revenues for the organizations he has represented.
Prior to launching his own firm and collaborating with JSB, Ross was the Executive Vice President for Strategy and Valuation at The Superlative Group, where he led an international team of valuation analysts, spearheaded partnership program development for the company’s higher education clients and oversaw the sales and marketing strategy for the valuation division. Before Superlative, Ross sold cause for numerous international nonprofit organizations through the sales support division of Social Capital Partnerships, providing lead generation, fundraising training, capital campaign strategy, sales proposal design, micro-site implementation, copywriting, commercial co-venture development, direct response television ad placement and other services for his clients, in addition to leading SCP’s annual conference sales.
On the property side, Ross was the Sponsorship Director for the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he raised $9.9 million through multi-year corporate partnerships, established UNLV’s first campus-wide partnership program and funded its first public-private Innovation Facility at the Harry Reid Research & Technology Park entirely through sponsorship and naming rights.
Apart from auditing and negotiating contracts for sponsors throughout his career, Ross also worked as a Creative Thinking Agent for Thoughtly Crew, a Chicago-based marketing think-tank that provides product ideation, advertising campaign development, execution strategy and other creative for Fortune 250 consumer brands. Ross found his calling at IEG, where he first met, worked and formed lifelong relationships with many of his JSB colleagues.
Ross has serviced hundreds of clients and valued thousands of sponsorship opportunities in every industry vertical all over the world. Selected clients include Walt Disney Studios, Resorts World Genting, Caesars Entertainment, Minnesota Twins, Joe Gibbs Racing, Diageo, Kraft Foods, Newell-Rubbermaid, Jockey, Anheuser-Busch InBev (Budweiser, Bud Light, Bud Light Platinum, Margaritaville, Straw-Ber-Rita), Subway, Shedd Aquarium, the California State University System, Michigan State University, Indiana University, Gonzaga University, LA Metro, New York MTA, San Diego MTA, GLL, the U.S Department of Defense, American Red Cross, Rotary International, National Park Foundation, Children’s Miracle Network, Feeding America, ASPCA, Best Friends Animal Society, Goodwill Industries International, National 4-H Council, Disabled American Veterans, BMM Testlabs, Michael Jordan Motorsports, Cook County, the City of Santa Monica and the City of Chicago.
Born and raised on a farm in the Sault Ste. Marie, MI, area, Ross obtained a B.A. in French and Art History from Alma College and a Diplôme de Langue Française from the Alliance Française in Paris, France. After living in Chicago for 15 years, he relocated to Las Vegas, where he now lives with his wife, daughter and two rescue pets.