Danielle Lee - Brand Innovators

Danielle Lee

Chief Fan Officer, National Basketball Association (NBA)

As Chief Fan Officer at the National Basketball Association, Danielle Lee oversees brand, creative, and multiplatform fan marketing globally and is charged with elevating brand perception, cultural connection, and fan engagement.  She led the fan marketing strategy for the 2019-20 NBA restart campaign, “Whole New Game,” driving awareness, viewership and cultural conversation around the historic season.

Lee is an accomplished marketing leader recognized for being a change agent, leading brand and innovation strategy, and delivering strong in-market results for some of the world’s most respected brands.  Prior to the NBA, Lee spent four years at Spotify and served as Global Vice President, Partner Solutions, where was responsible for developing go­to­market strategy and growing global revenue across music, podcasts and high-impact digital experiences.  Under her leadership and innovation, Spotify was named Media Brand of the Year at the 2018 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

Prior to Spotify, Lee served as Global Vice President, Commercial Marketing at Vevo, where she was responsible for building compelling sales narratives and developing the positioning and go­to­market strategy for all Vevo programs, core video products and tentpoles.  Prior to Vevo, she spent seven years at AT&T and served as Vice President of Product Marketing and Innovation for AT&T AdWorks, developing new online, mobile and TV advertising solutions, defining strategy, and growing the company’s multi­screen ad business.  Lee began her career at Showtime Networks, where she directed new product marketing and advertising and was instrumental in building awareness and driving tune­in to Showtime’s award­winning original series, including Weeds, Dexter, Fat Actress and The L Word.

Lee was named one of Billboard’s Branding Power Players and an AdColor in Tech honoree in 2019, and to Adweek’s Top 50 Most Indispensable Executives in Marketing, Media and Technology from 2016-2018.  She is also a three­time honoree of the Most Powerful Women in Mobile Advertising by Business Insider.  Lee serves on the board of the IAB Digital Video Center of Excellence and is an Executive Member of She Runs It.

Lee holds an MBA in marketing and media management from Columbia Business School and a bachelor of arts in political science from Columbia University.  She currently resides in Montclair, N.J., with her husband and two children.