Senior Director, Product - Trading Cards (Entertainment)

About Us

Fanatics is a leading global sports platform redefining how fans connect with the teams, players and moments they love. Our businesses — Fanatics Commerce, Fanatics Collectibles, Fanatics Betting & Gaming, Fanatics Events, Fanatics Advertising, Fanatics Markets and Fanatics Studios — maximize the presence and reach for hundreds of partners globally and create a one-stop experience that allows fans to buy, bet, collect, and earn, while engaging with sports in deeper, more immersive ways. This includes licensed fan gear and lifestyle products, sportsbook and iGaming, physical and digital trading cards, live events, premium sports entertainment content, credit card offerings and more. Together, they form a powerful, integrated ecosystem — connected by the Fanatics ONE loyalty program and FanCash, the currency of sport — delivering personalized experiences to over 100 million fans worldwide. Fanatics holds partnerships with over 900 sports properties, from professional leagues and players’ associations to teams, colleges and retail partners; over 7,000 athletes and celebrities; and over 2,000 retail locations, including all Lids stores. Backed by a team of more than 22,000 employees, Fanatics is committed to relentlessly enhancing the fan experience.

 

About the Company

Fanatics Collectibles is a new company operating at the intersection of collectibles, culture, and technology. Backed by world-class investors, operators, and sports & entertainment partners, we are building the global leader in next-generation collectibles. As part of the broader Fanatics ecosystem, we leverage a digital sports platform that spans over 900 sports properties and engages more than 81 million fans. Together, we are reimagining every part of the collectibles experience for fans, partners, and creators.

Role Summary

The Senior Director – Trading Cards is a senior product leader responsible for setting and driving the long-term product vision, portfolio strategy, and roadmap across Fanatics Collectibles’ trading card portfolio. This role leads a high-performing product organization and serves as a key enterprise leader—driving category growth, innovation, operational excellence, and cross-functional alignment to deliver best-in-class trading card products and collector experiences.

The ideal candidate is an exceptional people leader, strategic operator, and expert storyteller with strong executive presence and the ability to influence across functions and at the most senior levels of the organization. They bring deep knowledge of trading cards, consumer products, licensing, and collector engagement, paired with a track record of building and scaling innovative physical product portfolios. They excel at translating enterprise strategy into actionable portfolio priorities, developing leaders, unlocking high-value partnerships, and leveraging brand assets to drive sustained growth, profitability, and collector enthusiasm.

Key Responsibilities

Product Strategy & Leadership

• Set and own the multi-year product vision, portfolio strategy, roadmap, and release architecture across the trading card portfolio, ensuring alignment with broader business and category priorities.
• Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing product organization, including senior product leaders and managers—building leadership capability, succession depth, and consistently high standards for product thinking, execution, creativity, and cross-functional partnership.
• Establish the strategic agenda and culture for innovation and experimentation, pushing boundaries in card design, technology, formats, and collector experiences while balancing commercial and operational priorities.
• Drive enterprise-wide alignment around portfolio priorities, investment choices, and tradeoffs through clear communication, compelling storytelling, and data-driven decision making with executive stakeholders.

Innovation & Category Growth

• Anticipate emerging product, technology, consumer, and collector trends and translate them into a category growth strategy and multi-year innovation pipeline.
• Incubate and scale new product formats, premium offerings, digital integrations, and exclusive programs that expand the category and elevate the collector experience.
• Set the standard for storytelling and brand integration across product narratives, content, and release strategies, ensuring a differentiated and cohesive collector proposition.
• Leverage broader organizational capabilities and partnerships to create cross-category innovation and unlock new audiences, channels, and revenue opportunities.

Licensing, Partnerships & Relationship Management

• Serve as a senior product executive and strategic representative to licensors, partners, athletes, talent representatives, and other key external stakeholders.
• Build trusted relationships with executive-level partners and lead complex negotiations and strategic discussions related to product rights, approvals, timelines, portfolio opportunities, and innovation.
• Identify and unlock high-value partnerships by leveraging the trading card portfolio and expanding integration across brands, talent, technology partners, channels, and global markets.
• Ensure licensing and partnership strategies are aligned with long-term product vision, portfolio economics, profitability goals, and future category expansion.

Product Development & Operational Excellence

• Provide executive oversight across all phases of trading card product development, establishing operating mechanisms and accountability to ensure the portfolio is delivered on time, within budget, and to the highest quality standards.
• Partner with senior leaders across manufacturing, design, operations, and supply chain to resolve portfolio-level constraints, improve scalability, and ensure feasibility, accuracy, and consistency throughout development.
• Set portfolio strategy for autograph, memorabilia, chase content, and product differentiation to optimize value, authenticity, collector demand, and long-term category health.
• Establish and uphold portfolio-wide brand, quality, risk, and compliance standards, ensuring teams consistently meet or exceed expectations.

Go-to-Market, Insights & Performance

• Own senior-level business reviews and executive presentations, communicating portfolio performance, roadmap progress, strategic tradeoffs, risks, and future growth opportunities.
• Partner with senior leaders across sales, marketing, e-commerce, and other commercial functions to shape go-to-market strategy, maximize revenue, expand distribution, and strengthen product storytelling.
• Synthesize collector insights, market data, retailer feedback, competitive intelligence, and industry trends into portfolio-level decisions and investment priorities.
• Own portfolio KPIs, demand planning inputs, and product P&L performance; drive resource allocation and corrective actions to maximize profitability and long-term sustainable growth.

Required Knowledge & Competencies

• Deep expertise in trading card products, licensing models, consumer product economics, portfolio management, and collector trends.
• Strong command of collector behavior, fan engagement, brand strategy, and product storytelling, with the ability to translate insights into category strategy.
• Exceptional leadership capabilities, including leading leaders, organizational design, talent development, succession planning, and influencing senior cross-functional stakeholders.
• Strong executive presence with exceptional presentation and communication skills; able to shape decisions and communicate complex ideas simply and persuasively to senior leadership and external partners.
• Demonstrated ability to operate strategically at the portfolio and enterprise level while maintaining strong accountability for execution in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• High creativity and commercial judgment paired with strong operational discipline, financial acumen, and attention to detail.

Qualifications

• 12+ years of progressive product management, product development, or category leadership experience, preferably in trading cards, collectibles, consumer products, sports, entertainment, or licensing.
• Proven experience leading and scaling product organizations, developing senior talent, and influencing executive stakeholders across complex, global organizations.
• Track record of owning significant product portfolios, category strategies, and P&L outcomes, with demonstrated success developing and commercializing innovative physical products; trading card or collectibles experience strongly preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, or related field; MBA or equivalent advanced degree a plus.
• Passion for trading cards, collectibles, fan culture, and building products that grow and evolve the hobby.

Ensure your Fanatics job offer is legitimate and don’t fall victim to fraud.  Fanatics never seeks payment from job applicants. Feel free to ask your recruiter for a phone call or other type of communication for interview, and ensure your communication is coming from a Fanatics email address (including @collectfanatics.com).  For added security, where possible, apply through our company website at 

The salary range represents base pay only and does not include short-term or long-term incentive compensation.  This salary range is specific to Los Angeles and may not be applicable to other locations.  When determining base pay, as part of a final compensation package, we consider several factors such as location, experience, qualifications, and training. For information about our benefits, please visit 

Los Angeles Salary Range

$200,000—$250,000 USD

The salary range represents base pay only and does not include short-term or long-term incentive compensation.  This salary range is specific to New York City and may not be applicable to other locations.  When determining base pay, as part of a final compensation package, we consider several factors such as location, experience, qualifications, and training. For information about our benefits, please visit 

NYC Salary Range

$212,500—$275,000 USD

By submitting your application, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our  Candidate Privacy Policy.

Fanatics will never ask candidates for money, banking information, or other sensitive personal information as part of the interview process. If you receive a suspicious message claiming to be from Fanatics recruiting, please do not respond and report it  here .