The Aspire Group Announces New CEO

ATLANTA, GA – Dr. Bernie Mullin, Chairman and Founder of The Aspire Group announced that Bill Duffy, current CEO of The Aspire Group, has been promoted to Vice Chairman. Duffy will assume his new role on January 1, 2020 and will remain actively involved in bringing in new business and relevant client partner projects for The Aspire Group.  His significant sports industry experience spans 3 decades and in this new role he remains well positioned to continue his highly successful work with The Aspire Group.

Dr. Mullin further announced that Bill Fagan, current Aspire COO will be promoted to CEO effective January 1, 2020. Fagan joined The Aspire Group as Manager of the first ever Fan Relationship Management Center (FRMC) at Georgia Tech in 2009 and has received 4 promotions since that time. His outstanding contributions to the company and the sport and entertainment industry were acknowledged in 2017 when Sports Business Journal selected him for the prestigious “40 Under 40” Award. Fagan was Aspire’s first employee and has since built a team of over 200 full-time employees working on 47 different campuses across America. Aspire’s growth is largely due to Bill Fagan’s efforts working with 20 different sport and entertainment genres producing over $1 Billion in new and incremental revenues for client partners during that time. Before becoming COO, Fagan was Aspire’s SVP and GM of Fan Relationship Management. In this role, he built over 30 new sales and service centers across the United States, Australia, Canada and England. One of the major keys to this growth has been the development of the ‘Raise Your Game-Executive Development Program’, which is The Aspire Group’s proprietary training and career growth program. Fagan has groomed and promoted 62 Managers internally and overseen development of over 1,000 Ticket Sales & Service Consultants since joining Aspire.

Prior to joining Aspire, Fagan was Manager of Inside Sales with the Charlotte Bobcats (NBA) and was the NBA’s Top Rookie Ticket Sales Revenue producer with the Phoenix Suns. In between NBA stops, he spent a year in the Canadian Hockey League with the Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL) as their Director of Sales and Service. Fagan’s entry into the sports industry was with the Orange Bowl Committee and the Miami Dolphins (NFL). Originally from Middletown, CT, Fagan graduated from the University of Miami with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and completed his MBA studies at Emory’s Goizueta Business School where he was recognized by Poets & Quants “Best and Brightest” across the top 20 Executive MBA Programs in the United States.  Bill was named to Sports Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40” Class of 2017.

Dr. Bernie Mullin, Chairman and Found of the Aspire Group said,  “I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am for Bill and Cathy Duffy as they begin their transition into the next stage of their lives” stated. “I am honored that Bill has taken on the role of Vice Chairman for The Aspire Group. I am equally excited for our own Superstar Bill Fagan to ascend to the CEO role running our entire company, not just our Fan Relationship Management portion of the business. This represents the implementation of our

long- established succession plan and very much in keeping with Aspire’s philosophy of “promotion from within whenever possible and appropriate”. As our first-ever employee, Bill Fagan has now been promoted 4 times in just over 10 years simply because he has excelled at every level. It is important to note that Bill has personally hired or overseen the hiring process for every one of our leaders throughout our company history and is therefore fully responsible for Aspire’s outstanding culture. More than anything else, it is our people that make ‘The Aspire Difference’ and that difference starts with Bill Fagan and is the reason for our best in industry employee and client partner retention and new partner growth.”

Bill Fagan said, “I know that I speak for everyone in the Aspire Family in thanking both Bill Duffy and Bernie Mullin for their leadership and dedication to the company,”. “I am humbled and honored to assume this new role and really excited for the future of the company. We have a talented team at Aspire that is passionate about providing excellent service to our partners and exceeding their expectations. We remain focused on delivering ‘next-practice’ solutions in ticket marketing, sales and service; training; and strategic consulting and research and hopefully stepping it up to an even higher level.”  

About The Aspire Group
The Aspire Group is a sports and entertainment marketing firm that is globally recognized for innovative consulting, research, and ticket sales services. Aspire created the outsourced ticket sales niche, revolutionizing intercollegiate athletics with the first Fan Relationship Management Center (FRMC) at Georgia Tech in 2009. Over the past decade, more than 230 collegiate and professional sports properties have trusted Aspire to drive revenue, attendance and enterprise-value growth through the combination of strategic consulting and research services and best-in-industry fan relationship management.

For inquiries, contact Molly Nason at 404-389-9100 or molly.nason@theaspiregroupinc.com.