As Senior Vice President & Managing Director of NBA Latin America and Canada, Arnon de Mello oversees the development and expansion of the NBA's business and basketball initiatives throughout Latin America, the Caribbean and Canada. He directs all of the league's efforts in the regions across media and digital rights, marketing partnerships, events, licensed merchandise and retail through a dedicated team with headquarters in New York City and three local offices in Sao Paulo, Mexico City and Toronto.
Since joining the NBA in 2012 as Vice President and Managing Director of NBA Brazil, de Mello has launched the NBA’s regional office and overseen the continued growth of the business in Brazil. As part of his efforts to grow the game in the region, he directed key strategic partnerships, including with Amazon Prime Video and Liga Nacional de Basquete (LNB), grew the league’s local sponsorship business, successfully launched the NBA’s e-commerce and retail presence in Brazil, Chile and Mexico, and brought the game closer to fans through programs such as NBA Global Games, NBA Academy Latin America, Basketball Without Borders, Jr. NBA and the launch of the Mexico City Capitanes in the NBA G League in 2021, becoming the league’s first team outside of the U.S. and Canada.
Prior to joining the NBA, de Mello was the CEO and co-founder of Loops, which helps companies, political parties and community groups with their social media strategies. He also has experience in investment banking, covering the media, telecom and technology industries in both the U.S. and Brazil, spending years with Astor Group and Barclays Capital.
de Mello is a graduate of MIT Sloan School of Management, Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the University of Chicago. He is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, English, German and French.
11/2024
Since joining the NBA in 2012 as Vice President and Managing Director of NBA Brazil, de Mello has launched the NBA’s regional office and overseen the continued growth of the business in Brazil. As part of his efforts to grow the game in the region, he directed key strategic partnerships, including with Amazon Prime Video and Liga Nacional de Basquete (LNB), grew the league’s local sponsorship business, successfully launched the NBA’s e-commerce and retail presence in Brazil, Chile and Mexico, and brought the game closer to fans through programs such as NBA Global Games, NBA Academy Latin America, Basketball Without Borders, Jr. NBA and the launch of the Mexico City Capitanes in the NBA G League in 2021, becoming the league’s first team outside of the U.S. and Canada.
Prior to joining the NBA, de Mello was the CEO and co-founder of Loops, which helps companies, political parties and community groups with their social media strategies. He also has experience in investment banking, covering the media, telecom and technology industries in both the U.S. and Brazil, spending years with Astor Group and Barclays Capital.
de Mello is a graduate of MIT Sloan School of Management, Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the University of Chicago. He is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, English, German and French.
11/2024