Bringing the partnership playbook to AI and blockchain

The situation

After a decade in sports and brand partnerships, I took my experience somewhere it was scarce: emerging blockchain technology. The NEAR Foundation exists to grow adoption of NEAR Protocol — and partnerships were one way we did it: AI and blockchain projects, as well as consumer brands, that translated the technology into real use cases.

What I did

As Head of Partnership Marketing and GTM, I built the strategy layer that sports had taught me to build: every partnership got a narrative, a campaign, and a go-to-market plan before it got a press release. I developed integrated activations and co-marketing programs across our key partnerships, worked alongside business development and legal to evaluate the deals themselves, and managed the ongoing partner relationships — growth planning, quarterly business reviews, and the work of making partnerships compound after launch day.

Notable partnership activations

Crypto-native partnerships

The foundation of the ecosystem: partnerships with crypto exchanges, wallets, and crypto-native applications. I built and owned the marketing side of each, which included co-marketing campaigns, launch narratives, event inclusion, and ongoing programs that turned integrations into visibility for both sides.

AI × blockchain

NEAR's bet on decentralized AI ran through HZN, its AI incubation program. I led partnership marketing efforts to spotlight the accelerator participants and AI-native projects building on NEAR — bringing new-category products to market at the intersection of AI and blockchain, before that intersection was crowded.

International Cricket Council

Using sports to highlight blockchain technology: the ICC launched Captain's Call, a fan-engagement game built on NEAR Protocol, during the Cricket World Cup — putting the protocol in front of one of the largest sports audiences in the world. My two careers in a single partnership: a global sports property, a consumer activation, and a blockchain product shipped to fans.

---

The results

[FILL IN — launches shipped, audience/reach numbers, partner brands you can name. In web3, named consumer/AI brand partnerships are themselves the credibility signal — list them if you can.]