Executive Vice President, Chief Communications Officer
One of the original members of the Major League Soccer staff prior to the league commencing in 1996, Dan Courtemanche serves as primary spokesperson with oversight for all communications and media relations for the League and its commercial arm, Soccer United Marketing.
Courtemanche returned to MLS and SUM in March of 2005 after serving in various capacities with the league office from 1995-2001. He was the league’s director of communications from 1995-1998 and vice president of communications from 1999-2001. He was a member of the strategic marketing and communications team that launched MLS in 1996, earning the League the “Sports Industrialist of the Year” award from the Sports Business Daily industry publication. Under his tenure, MLS was named the 2008 “Professional Sports League of the Year” by Street & Smith’s Sports Business Journal, as well as SBJ League of the Year in 2016.
Prior to returning MLS and SUM, Courtemanche served as the Dodge Tour de Georgia’s deputy executive director from 2004-2005, where he managed the marketing, public relations and corporate partnerships for one of North America’s premier cycling stage races. From 2002-2003, he served as vice president of communications and business development for the Women’s United Soccer Association, managing all public relations activities for the League and serving as a member of the business development team.
Before his first stint with MLS, he spent three years (1993-1995) as the director of public relations of the 15-team Continental Indoor Soccer League, a professional indoor soccer league that was owned by NBA and NHL investors. Courtemanche began his career in 1990 with Atlanta-based event marketing firm Strategic Sports Specialists (since acquired by Octagon), where he spent three years managing public relations and promotional campaigns for a variety of corporate clients.
Born January 19, 1968, Courtemanche is a 1990 graduate of the University of Georgia, where he earned a bachelor of business administration in marketing. He resides in Manhattan with his wife and son.
