WILLIAM J. MURRAY
Jacksonville
Summary
Extensive leadership and management experience in the Payments industry, including current Head of Payments role with Fanatics. Instrumental catalyst in Fanatics’ rise as the leading online retailer of officially licensed sports merchandise. Career-long record of impactful contributions to revenue growth, market growth, partner acquisition, and team development goals.
Overview
30
30
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Senior Director, Partner Solutions and Financial Services
FANATICS
01.2016 - Current
Vice President, Payments
FANATICS
01.2017 - 2025
Vice President/Head of Payments
FANATICS
01.2018 - 2023
- Serve as the leader for all global payment strategy and business development activities. Manage and optimize network partnerships. Create and launch payment solutions for digital, mobile, collectibles, and gaming commerce. Plan and direct the monetization of the Payments ecosystem on behalf of merchants.
- Lead, coach, and mentor team members in creating the products and strategies that enable millions of Fanatics consumers to pay for sports merchandise across all major leagues and 100s of professional/collegiate teams. Continually explore and capitalize on innovative solutions to engage with fans worldwide.
- Played an instrumental role in elevating Fanatics to become the leading online retailer of officially licensed sports merchandise and a Top 50 Internet Retail company that provides the broadest online assortment, offering over 100,000 officially licensed items via www.fanatics.com and www.fansedge.com, along with the largest selection of sports collectibles and memorabilia through www.fanaticsauthentic.com.
- Paved the way for Fanatics to power the eCommerce sites of all major professional sports leagues (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NASCAR, PGA), major media brands (NBC Sports, CBS Sports, FOX Sports), and 150+ collegiate and professional team properties.
- Created the overarching Payments strategy to diversify and grow payment partnerships, maximize the Fanatics brand value, and achieve a “net zero” cost of acceptance.
- Built and led a team of Payment executives who negotiated over $200M in recurring payment pricing, interchange, brand valuation, and alternative consumer solutions across the franchise.
- Reduced payment liabilities, including chargebacks, returns, and fraud arbitration, by leveraging deal economics with new PayFac providers.
- Drove incremental revenue growth with new Consumer Payment offerings, enhancing the consumer checkout experience as a result.
Senior Sales Director / Merchant Sales and Team Lead for Business Development
EDO INTERACTIVE
01.2014 - 01.2015
- Oversaw all business development functions and activities for a 10-member sales team in a player/coach role. Focused team efforts on expanding the overall Card Linked Offers strategy that sought new Merchant alliance partnerships and FI investments. Built C - Suite relationships in the Payments and Merchant community.
- Introduced 20+ merchant partners and closed $1MM in merchant IO value in the first 90 days by planning and launching the Visa Europe Alliance (EDO became the exclusive CLO platform for Visa).
Senior Director, Merchant Sales
VISA
01.2013 - 01.2014
- Planned and directed all Northeast sales and business development activities for Visa’s initial digital solution, V.me. Focused business development efforts on the Internet Retailer top 250 merchant base (key merchant sales included Toys R Us, Hudson Bay Corp. 1800Flowers, Best Buy, Vermont Teddy Bear, Bose, and NFL).
- Pursued and signed 8 merchant partners; increased N.E. merchant participation by 72% in first year with the company.
Vice President, Financial Services Sales
PAYFONE
01.2011 - 01.2012
- Led, coached, and motivated the sales team in managing and optimizing partnerships with issuers, mobile network operators and merchants. Reported directly to the CEO. Planned and executed multiple sales activities for Payfone’s mobile authentication suite of services and 1-touch checkout solution.
- Played a critical role in Early Warning Services’ acquisition of Payfone authentication services, representing an exclusive commercial deal for mobile authorization to EWS member banks and $15MM in capital funding for the company.
Vice President, U.S. Market Development, eCommerce
MASTERCARD
01.2009 - 01.2011
- Built a distinguished record of achievements over an extended period. As VP of U.S. Market Development, developed and launched the initial merchant focused strategy. As VP of UK Markets, transitioned to Business Development, Barclaycard Partnerships (relocated to London). As VP of Global Key Accounts, led an 8-person team in managing all facets of the payment network relationship and overall compliance.
- Generated over $20B in GDV for USMD by securing key merchant participation in various MA initiatives, including Amazon, Overstock.com, 1800Flowers, MLB Advances Media, Best Buy, Dell, and Microsoft Delivered a 52% increase in eCommerce sales volume in 2011.
- Awarded segment exclusivity by MasterCard through developing a formal response for Barclaycard Mid-Market Co-brand segment. Collaborated with MA Advisors to create Barclaycard Emerging Markets Insights resource, with a focus on expansion into Eastern Europe & SAMEA regions.
- Managed segments that generated ~$200MM in incremental revenue over term for Global Key Accounts. Managed MBNA America’s Sports affinity and alliance partners for MasterCard.
- Signed exclusive deals with MLB, 16 NFL clubs, NHL, and the PGA & LPGA Tour.
Vice President, UK Markets, Barclaycard Team
MASTERCARD
01.2007 - 01.2009
Vice President, Global Key Accounts, MBNA
MASTERCARD
01.1999 - 01.2007
Assistant Vice President, Regional Accounts
MASTERCARD
01.1996 - 01.1999
Education
Bachelor of Science - Business Administration
ST. JOHN’S UNIVERSITY
New York, NYSkills
- Payments Solutions
- Merchant Partnerships & Alliances
- Go-To-Market/GTM Strategy
- Cross-Functional Team Building & Leadership
- Product Development & Launch
- Monetization Strategy
- Brand Value Optimization
- Consumer Checkout Experience
- M&As
- Alternate Consumer Solutions
- Team leadership
- Relationship building
- Decision-making
- Critical thinking
- Complex Problem-solving
- Coaching and mentoring
- Client relationship building
- Strategic planning
- Business development
- Results-driven
Affiliations
- Trustee, The Hagedorn Little Village School
- Senior Advisor, BWG Strategy
Certification
- Solution Selling Sales and CRM Certifications
- Business of Bankcard Management
- ABA
Overview
- Deep FinTech and Payments background, along with a strong portfolio of strategic and leadership skills.
- Excel in cultivating and deepening external client relationships, with a focus on senior-level partnerships.
- Highly skilled in structuring and building a clear business strategy based on deep analytical reasoning.
- Proven ability to build, develop, lead, and inspire high-performing teams to achieve breakthrough, YOY results.
Timeline
Vice President/Head of Payments
FANATICS
01.2018 - 2023
Vice President, Payments
FANATICS
01.2017 - 2025
Senior Director, Partner Solutions and Financial Services
FANATICS
01.2016 - Current
Senior Sales Director / Merchant Sales and Team Lead for Business Development
EDO INTERACTIVE
01.2014 - 01.2015
Senior Director, Merchant Sales
VISA
01.2013 - 01.2014
Vice President, Financial Services Sales
PAYFONE
01.2011 - 01.2012
Vice President, U.S. Market Development, eCommerce
MASTERCARD
01.2009 - 01.2011
Vice President, UK Markets, Barclaycard Team
MASTERCARD
01.2007 - 01.2009
Vice President, Global Key Accounts, MBNA
MASTERCARD
01.1999 - 01.2007
Assistant Vice President, Regional Accounts
MASTERCARD
01.1996 - 01.1999
Bachelor of Science - Business Administration
ST. JOHN’S UNIVERSITY