Thomas Wills
President and CEO of Bonham/Wills & Associates
Thomas manages and oversees all projects and business development for Bonham/Wills & Associates. He is a graduate of Neuroscience from Dalhousie University, where he finished top of his class with a 4.0 GPA. During his tenure at Dalhousie, Thomas worked in a prominent pharmacology lab researching neuroprotection with several platinum drugs as well as with flavonoids. Following graduation, Thomas passed up the opportunity to study medicine in order to follow his entrepreneurial spirit in the world of sports and entertainment. His diverse background brings Bonham/Wills & Associates an invaluable combination of pragmatism, creativeness, and vision.
Thomas began working for Bonham & Associates as an Analyst before being promoted to Project Manager. In this role, Thomas established himself as a key member of the Bonham/Wills & Associates team. Naturally, he moved into a business development role in which he could use his entrepreneurial skills to grow the firm. In 2012, Thomas and Dean Bonham entered into an exclusive business relationship and thus the birth of Bonham/Wills & Associates. Shortly thereafter, Thomas moved the firm’s headquarters to his hometown of Vancouver, Canada. As President and CEO, Thomas oversees all business development, client services, and analytics.
As an industry expert, Thomas has been featured in numerous press articles regarding sponsorship. In addition to this, Thomas has consulted for some of the world’s most prestigious sports and entertainment properties, as well as a number of the leading global corporations.
In his spare time, Thomas enjoys travelling both nationally and internationally. He has travelled and backpacked throughout Australia, India, Nepal, South-East Asia, among many other places. Thomas also is very active within his community by promoting health and wellness through sports. As an avid sports and business fan, Thomas channels these passions into his work with Bonham/Wills & Associates. In 2013, Thomas became a Board of Director for Big Brother’s of Greater Vancouver (BBGV).
Dean Bonham
Chairman
For over twenty-five years, Dean Bonham has been a pioneer in the development and implementation of comprehensive sports marketing strategies and solutions for major national and international sports, entertainment and corporate clients. Having served as president of an NBA franchise and with a reputation as a leading negotiator in the business of sports, he is widely regarded as one of the authorities in the sports and entertainment marketing industries.
Bonham has helped form and/or served on the board of five sports authorities/commissions; The Denver Baseball Commission, The Mayor's Counsel on Physical Fitness, The Governor's Counsel On Physical Fitness, The Denver Corporate Games, The Special Olympics and The Colorado Sports Counsel.
Bonham has personally negotiated more than one and a half billion dollars worth of sports and entertainment contracts with or for companies such as IBM, Chrysler, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Progressive Insurance, Quest Communications, Oracle, Pacific Life, Ford Motor Company, Ericsson, Budweiser and AT&T. He has also worked on behalf of many national and international sports and entertainment clients such as the NHL, the NFL, the NBA, DIRECTV, Universal Studios, Motown Records, The House of Blues, Sporting News Radio, the Denver Nuggets, Caesars World, the University of North Carolina, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Houston Rockets, the Golden State Warriors, the Seattle Seahawks, the Pittsburg Penguins, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Arsenal Football Club, the Manchester City Football Club, the Blackburn Rovers Football Club, the Scottish Football Association, the West Ham United Football Club, the Everton Football Club, the Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, the Flamengo Football Club and the British Motor Show. Additionally, Bonham:
- Negotiated the groundbreaking naming rights sponsorship package for his client O2, the British mobile phone company, for the former Millennium Dome in London; The O2 is now regarded as the top entertainment venue in Europe and one of the top in the world.
- Acted as lead negotiator in more naming rights negotiations than any sports executive in the world: Oracle Arena in Oakland, Honda Center in Anaheim, Qwest Field in Seattle, Toyota Center in Houston, U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, San Diego's PETCO Park, Ford Field in Detroit, PNC Park in Pittsburgh, the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul and Ameriquest Field in Arlington; and
- Served as lead negotiator for Ameriquest in finalizing its agreement with the National Football League to become the NFL's official mortgage company and title sponsor of the 2005 Super Bowl halftime show.
Bonham's views on Olympic and league sponsorship, equity financing, logo exposure, stadium/arena naming rights, TV rights, sports facility financing, women's sports, formation of sports authorities/ commissions, major sports league labor issues and stadium/arena signage issues have been quoted in virtually every major publication in the United States and many in Europe. He was also the author or the widely acclaimed sports column, Boardroom Sports' for almost a decade.
Bonham has been a featured guest on ABC's Nightline, CBS's Early Show, CNN's Moneyline, CNBC, Fox News and Canadian Public Television. He has been the host of several cable television sports shows in which he interviewed guests such as: NBA Commissioner, David Stern; NBA and Major League Baseball owner, Jerry Colangelo and Black Entertainment Network founder, Robert Johnson.
Bonham has also been a featured speaker at numerous international sports and entertainment conferences and a guest professor at several U. S. Universities including NYU, University of Colorado, Denver University and Portland State University.
Ken Chong
Principal Brand Consultant, KCD Graphics
Ken has over a decade of experience in brand development, visual communications and production industry. He has consulted on and continues to develop products and marketing initiatives with global heavy weights such as Quiksilver Inc, Converse, Pabst Brewing Co, Dickies Workwear, New Era Caps and more.
Ken learned quickly that the value of a great brand is born from a single fundamental insight - once understood, its potential becomes infinite. This is the core philosophy that powers the KCD process.
Before KCD Graphics, Ken was many things including Creative Director at The Baitshop Inc, a design and experiential marketing firm; Lead Design Consultant at The Design Walk-in, a street level walk-in design consulting and referral agency; and freelance Art Director. Ken resides in Toronto, Ontario but goes wherever the work may take him.
info@kcdgraphics.com