LISA MURRAY TO RETIRE FROM OCTAGON FOLLOWING 30+ YEARS OF LEADERSHIP AND IMMEASURABLE INFLUENCE
May 22, 2023
Murray to Continue in Current Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer & Chief Diversity Officer Role Through August
Stamford, Conn. – May 22, 2023 – Octagon Sports and Entertainment Network (OSEN) announced today that following a remarkable career spanning more than four decades, Lisa Murray, Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer & Chief Diversity Officer, will retire from the company at the end of August. Murray will continue in her current role for the next three months.
For more than 30 years, Murray has been an extraordinary and influential leader across Octagon, R&CPMK, OSEN, and IPG, while also serving as an invaluable trailblazer throughout the industry. A pillar for Octagon and OSEN, as well as for countless clients, Murray has helped significantly shape the agency network and the sports and entertainment community through decades of immense growth.
“Lisa’s contributions to Octagon, our team, clients, and the sports and entertainment industry at large over the past 30 years have been beyond measure,” said John Shea, CEO, Octagon Sports and Entertainment Network. “Her dedication, passion, creativity, never-ending energy, perfectly timed wit, and ability to bring people together are unmatched, and she has been invaluable to our success.”
“My career at Octagon has been more than I could have ever imagined,” said Murray. “I have had the honor and privilege to surround myself with the best colleagues and clients, activating the best sporting and entertainment events from every corner of the world. I have always committed myself to exceeding the expectations for all those I interact with, and how lucky am I that my career did the same for me.”
Murray joined Octagon in 1992 as head of the agency’s Mastercard account – a relationship that has continued uninterrupted for more than three decades – before climbing the ranks to become one of Octagon and OSEN’s most senior executives and the first women to be named CMO of a major sports and entertainment agency. During her tenure, Murray has continued to play a pivotal role in Octagon’s business development growth globally, and has been instrumental in creating and fostering relationships with many of the agency’s most long-standing clients including AB InBev, Cisco, LinkedIn, and many others.
Spearheading Octagon’s collective efforts surrounding some of the world’s largest events, Murray has also overseen the agency’s brand client activities for eight consecutive FIFA Men’s and Women’s World Cups, as well as the launch of many of Octagon’s 50+ offices around the world.
In addition to helping grow the company in scale, Murray has played equally as significant a role in influencing and defining the organization internally, as a principal creator of the agency network’s culture, key driver of enhanced synergy programs across global divisions, and leader of OSEN’s DE&I efforts. All while serving as a mentor to hundreds of women and men across Octagon, R&CPMK, and IPG, as well as thousands of others throughout the industry, in addition to leading IPG’s Women’s Leadership Network and serving as National Chair of WLN.
Murray’s tireless work and contributions during her career have deservedly been recognized across the industry as well, including being named to Adweek’s “Most Powerful Women in Sports” list, Sports Business Journal’s “Most Influential” and “Game Changers” lists, and selected by WISE as a 25th Anniversary “Women of Distinction” honoree, for her work as a trailblazer in sports and years of dedicated efforts serving as a champion for women in the business of sports.
–OSEN–