Meme Halford
Strategic Partnerships · Brand Partnerships · Experiential Marketing
Studio City, CA 91604 · mshalford@gmail.com · (810) 241-9836
Strategic partnerships leader with 15+ years of experience building trusted relationships, enterprise partnerships, and go-to-market programs across entertainment, media, technology, sports, culture, creators, and premium consumer brands. Proven record originating, negotiating, and growing complex multi-year partnerships while translating partner goals, audiences, and business needs into high-value programs.
Experienced serving as a senior relationship owner across business development, marketing, digital, experiential, agencies, legal, creative, and executive stakeholders. Brings deep entertainment and creator ecosystem fluency, strong strategic judgment, and experience translating emerging technology, including AI-enabled tools and technology led experiences into useful, culturally relevant partner solutions.
- —Generated $7M+ in sponsorship revenue at the Recording Academy through new business, renewals, and multi-year enterprise partnerships spanning global brands, technology companies, media platforms, and entertainment properties.
- —Managed a $15M+ annual enterprise partnership portfolio representing more than $75M in contracted value at City National Bank, aligning investments with business development, executive engagement, customer relationships, and brand-growth objectives.
- —Built and expanded strategic relationships across entertainment, sports, technology, talent, luxury, and consumer brands, including Mastercard, IBM, Intel, Uber, Delta Air Lines, Gucci, Apple Music, Google, JBL, the LA Lakers, and LA Galaxy.
- —Developed technology-forward entertainment partnerships including IBM Watson GRAMMY Insights and Uber's augmented-reality entertainment program, translating emerging technology into relevant, consumer-facing partner experiences.
City National Bank, Los Angeles, CA
Led enterprise partnership strategy and relationship operations across a $15M+ portfolio, serving as a senior relationship owner connecting corporate marketing, business development, executive stakeholders, agencies, and external entertainment and sports partners. Built scalable governance, measurement, and operating frameworks to improve opportunity evaluation, execution, and business impact.
- —Directed 25+ enterprise partnerships across entertainment, sports, awards, venues, and culture, managing more than $75M in contracted value and aligning strategic investments with customer acquisition, relationship development, and brand objectives.
- —Originated and expanded new LA Lakers and LA Galaxy relationships while overseeing marquee partnerships across awards, music, venues, festivals, and professional sports.
- —Led complex partnership negotiations, renewals, rights evaluations, activation planning, and executive stakeholder alignment across high-value multi-year agreements.
- —Represented partner and stakeholder needs internally, translating external priorities, audience considerations, performance insights, and relationship dynamics into investment and activation recommendations.
- —Created enterprise operating processes including partnership intake governance, opportunity scorecards, performance analytics, executive reporting, and cross-functional planning rhythms.
- —Established measurement infrastructure tracking brand equity, client conversion, asset utilization, experiential engagement, and business impact to inform investment and renewal decisions.
- —Integrated AI-enabled tools into partnership workflows to accelerate market research, competitive analysis, brief development, reporting, and strategic recommendations.
Nestlé International Premium Waters, Los Angeles, CA
Translated global brand priorities for S.Pellegrino, Acqua Panna, and Perrier into U.S. entertainment, cultural, creator, and experiential programs, coordinating internal stakeholders, agencies, talent partners, and external platforms.
- —Developed entertainment and cultural partnership strategies spanning music, film, television, fashion, culinary, creators, and premium lifestyle platforms.
- —Led creator, influencer, celebrity, and talent collaborations designed to extend brand storytelling across social, digital, experiential, and earned-media channels.
- —Managed film and television product-placement initiatives and entertainment integrations, strengthening brand relevance through culturally aligned content opportunities.
- —Used campaign analytics, consumer trends, and marketplace intelligence to optimize positioning, partnership choices, and marketing effectiveness.
- —Coordinated creative development, partner communications, activation timelines, agencies, and field execution across integrated U.S. programs.
The Recording Academy / GRAMMY Awards, Santa Monica, CA
Led strategic partnerships and business development across the GRAMMY ecosystem, combining entertainment IP, digital media, technology, experiential platforms, content, and hospitality to create valuable solutions for enterprise partners. Guided an 8-member cross-functional partnership team and worked with senior leadership on revenue growth and commercialization opportunities.
- —Delivered $7M+ in sponsorship revenue through new business and renewals, cultivating multi-year relationships with major brands and technology partners.
- —Built executive relationships and strategic partnership programs with Mastercard, IBM, Intel, Uber, Delta Air Lines, Gucci, Apple Music, Google, JBL, Hilton, and Absolut.
- —Helped commercialize GRAMMY.com and affiliated digital platforms, expanding partnership inventory and digital revenue opportunities.
- —Created technology-led entertainment partnership programs including IBM Watson GRAMMY Insights, Intel's Lady Gaga collaboration, and Uber's augmented-reality Play This City experience.
- —Led integrated commercial programs spanning digital media, branded content, live experiences, VIP hospitality, consumer promotions, talent engagement, and custom entertainment events.
- —Represented the organization with senior brand and entertainment stakeholders at major industry events while managing activation budgets ranging from $150K–$500K.
- —Managed cross-functional collaboration across sales, marketing, digital, production, creative, legal, and partner teams to move complex programs from concept and negotiation through execution and measurement.
- Strategic Partnerships & Relationship Ownership
- Partnership Origination, Negotiation & Growth
- Executive Stakeholder Management
- Partner Needs & Audience Insights
- Technology & AI-Enabled Partnership Strategy
- Creator, Talent & Entertainment Ecosystems
- Cross-Functional Leadership
- Value Proposition & Narrative Development
- Rights & Opportunity Evaluation
- Go-to-Market Strategy
- Performance Measurement & Business Impact
- Market & Competitive Intelligence
- Risk, Reputation & Brand Alignment
Bachelor of Arts in Communication, Minor in Business Administration
Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI