Panini America Sheds Light on Key Changes to Company’s Hobby Sales Force

Panini America officials announced on Thursday the promotion of sports collectibles industry veteran Kevin Haake as the company’s Director of Hobby Sales. Haake will be responsible for the primary management of the Panini America hobby business and will report to D.J. Kazmierczak, Panini America’s Vice President of Sales, in a role that is effective immediately.

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Panini America officials announced on Thursday the promotion of sports collectibles industry veteran Kevin Haake as the company’s Director of Hobby Sales. Haake will be responsible for the primary management of the Panini America hobby business and will report to D.J. Kazmierczak, Panini America’s Vice President of Sales, in a role that is effective immediately.

Haake, a Kansas native with Texas ties, began his career at All-Star Cards in Overland Park, Kan., overseeing and developing the company’s monthly mail-order catalog and web-commerce business. Haake also worked at Beckett Media, in Dallas as the editor of the company’s popular Beckett Baseball.  In 2008, Haake joined the Topps Company as its NBA Brand Manager. Haake took the opportunity to return to Texas by joining the Panini America sales team in late 2009. During his tenure with Panini, Haake has overseen the growth and development of some of the company’s most strategic national retail partners including Walmart, Toys R Us, Dollar Tree, Walgreens and Family Dollar. Kevin holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Advertising/Public Relations and Speech Communication from Texas Christian University.

“I love this industry and I have enjoyed every opportunity that Panini America has given me.” Haake said.  “I now look forward to working more closely with our hobby distribution partners.”

Said Kazmierczak: “Kevin has done a tremendous job in his previous role here at Panini. His combination of brand-building experience, along with secondary-market knowledge, are intangibles that are very valuable in our industry and we are lucky to have him.”

In addition to Haake’s promotion, Meghan Goldate has been installed in the newly created position of Direct Sales Account Executive. A three-year employee of Panini America, Goldate’s primary responsibility is sales support to the more than 800 Panini Roundtable brick and mortar stores. Goldate has been working with many of these customers in her previous role on the finance side of the Panini America business.

“It continues to be our goal to support brick and mortar stores and Meghan will now be their direct voice toward our organization,” said Kazmierczak. “I have worked directly with Meghan for the past two years and recognize her natural account-management abilities. We are thrilled to expand our sales team with the addition of Meghan.”

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0 Replies to “Panini America Sheds Light on Key Changes to Company’s Hobby Sales Force”

  1. If you ever need another long distance hire…you know how to contact me lol

    Congrats to Kevin and Meghann

  2. Congrats to Kevin and Meghan. The future looks bright for Panini America and The Hobby in general. As a Panini America Brick and Mortar Store, I look forward to working with Kevin and Meghan.

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