A significant leadership move is occurring at Arthur M. Blank Sports and Entertainment.
Josh Blank, the second-oldest son of Arthur Blank — owner of the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United — is joining AMBSE as vice president of executive strategy on Aug. 15.
The younger Blank recently completed four years working at the National Football League office in New York, an opportunity for him to learn more about the business side of football. He served as an NFL Club Business Development associate.
In Atlanta, Josh will report to AMBSE President Tim Zulawski. He will play key roles in strategy and major events.
It is not a total surprise that Josh Blank is joining the organization. It was Josh, who played soccer when he was high school student, who was instrumental in his father becoming interested in bringing professional soccer to Atlanta and having the city become part of Major League Soccer. One of his new roles at AMBSE will be to serve as MLS Governor for Atlanta United, representing the club on the MLS board on all soccer matters.
Josh Blank will work closely with Zulawski on strategy and execution of major business initiatives across the AMBSE portfolio of the Atlanta Falcons, Atlanta United and Mercedes-Benz Stadium (MBS). He will play a key role in the execution of major events such as the College Football National Championship (2025), FIFA World Cup (2026) and play a lead role in coordinating the integrated bids of AMBSE and key community partners to secure other major events for Atlanta and MBS. Josh Blank will also be part of quarterly and annual strategic planning with PGA TOUR Superstore, as well as other AMBSE investments in golf.
“We’re thrilled to have Josh join our leadership team in an important, impactful role that also allows him to learn many of the more complex areas of our business and gaining a deeper understanding of our operations,” said Rich McKay, CEO of AMBSE. “His role integrating numerous functions in support of Tim and our external partners has become critical with our significant growth and continued aspirations. Josh has been an impact player at the NFL, working with most league-wide functions and a number of member clubs intensely over the last several years, and he has been part of the league’s major event planning and execution as well. His experience there will translate to immediate value for AMBSE, and we cannot wait to have him back in Atlanta.”
Josh Blank joined the NFL office in 2020 as part of the league’s rotational program where he worked with Club Business Development, Consumer Products, Media Strategy and Business Development and Communications. In 2022, he was hired as a full-time associate in NFL Club Business Development where he has served as point of contact for all 32 NFL clubs on ticketing best practices, strategy and insights. One example of this work was driving an organizational focus on getting fans into the stadium by kickoff.
The younger Blank also co-led the NFL’s Super Bowl and International Games Liaison programs, which operated as an intermediary between the league and team executives and ownership. He also co-led the League’s Global Markets Program for Club Business Development, an initiative to grow NFL fandom internationally and seeing the program grow from 19 teams in 2022 to 25 entering the 2024 season. Additionally, during his time at the NFL, he also served as account manager for five teams to help drive the achievement of business goals through their digital and social media platforms.
Prior to his time at the NFL, Josh Blank played NCAA Division I soccer for four years at Elon University in North Carolina, where he was team captain as a senior and was a 4-time recipient of the CAA Commissioner’s Academic Award. He graduated from Elon with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Management and minor in Professional Sales.
A decorated youth and club soccer player before going to Elon, Blank opted for a gap year after graduating from Atlanta’s Pace Academy to become one of the first employees at Atlanta United and assisted in the extraordinarily successful launch of the team. In that role he led grassroots fan development events, assisted in the development of the academy, conducted research for the scouting department and participated in numerous other operational areas to launch the team in 2017 and gain valuable experience in team and stadium operations.
In addition to serving as Atlanta United’s governor for MLS, he is also a current member of the MLS Next Pro Committee. He is also currently serving on Elon University’s Young Leaders Council as a board member and is on the alumni board for Pace Academy. An avid runner, Josh Blank has completed five half marathons and one marathon, and he is currently training for the October 2024 Chicago Marathon. He currently holds a US Soccer Federation E and F coaching license and continues to play recreational soccer and enjoys golf, hiking, traveling and skiing.
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