St. Louis City SC, continuing to march to its own beat as it starts up its franchise from scratch, named Major League Soccer’s first “chief experience officer†on Tuesday.
The CXO is Matt Sebek, who comes to the team from World Wide Technology, and who is charged with merging technology and marketing roles into one position.
“You’re in charge of how people engage with the club, how they feel about it,†Sebek said. “For someone like the CXO at Nordstrom is responsible for bringing the elements of the brand so everyone who walks in the store feels it.
“We want to be accessible for everyone across the region, including outside of the stadium. We have 17 home games but the opportunity to engage is much broader. Our mission is to be bigger than soccer. Either through social media channels, our app, loyalty programs, merchandising, retail, we all need to ladder up to the promise of the ownership group.â€
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Sebek, 39, is not a soccer newcomer. He played at SLU High and then in college at Evansville. He described himself as a “scrappy†defensive midfielder.
Sebek’s projects with the team will include aspects on the physical and digital side.
“The stadium is first right now,†he said. “We have a monumental construction project going on. Typically, teams build stadiums and think about the fan experience after the fact. We’re having tech conversations now before we play.â€
"This is such an important moment for our team, and I couldn't be more excited as we continue making history and exploring opportunities to be innovative industry leaders," said team CEO Carolyn Kindle Betz. "Since Day One, we have strived to make each person in our region feel connected to the team. Matt's hiring as MLS' first-ever CXO puts us in such a great position to show our fans' spirit and passion, and our true commitment to them."
The team is scheduled to begin play in 2023, pushed back one year than originally set because of the pandemic.