Deirdre Lester

Deirdre Lester is the Chief Revenue Officer at Barstool Sports. Lester is a trusted sales and marketing executive with 20 years of experience in media sales, sponsorship marketing and sales management in the interactive space. Having worked at both Fortune 500 sales organizations and highly entrepreneurial companies, she understands the leadership skills which are required to build start-ups as well as the balance needed within more established organizations.

Lester joined Barstool Sports as CRO in 2018 to overhaul the Sales and Marketing Organization and drive revenue growth for the business. With a focus on scaling revenue through advertising, partnerships and licensing, she has expanded the team from New York to Chicago and Los Angeles. Since then, Barstool Sports has established partnerships with several blue-chip companies such as Square Inc., E&J Gallo, AB InBev, Phillips Norelco, MGM, FanDuel, Kraft Heinz, NASCAR and also has over 250 direct advertising partners across its properties. Under her leadership, the partnerships model has developed beyond advertising to include branded content, sponsorships, experiential and direct to consumer product collaborations.

Through top-notch sales training at CNET & ESPN as well as years of hands-on managerial experience at Rivals.com, Y! Sports and MLBAM, she maintains well-honed strategic selling and negotiating skills and direct dialogue with executives and senior officers at Fortune 500 companies, top advertising agencies and leading professional sports teams and sports media outlets. She demonstrates dedication to revenue growth, team development and establishing everlasting partnerships through a consultative approach. The interactive media industry has always been a passion for Lester, and the cross-section of digital sports media has been her area of specialization.