- Source: Erika Ayers Badan
Erika Ayers Badan (formerly Nardini; born November 6, 1975) is an American businesswoman and CEO of Food52.
Ayers served as the first CEO of Barstool Sports from 2016 to 2024.
Early life and education
Ayers spent much of her childhood in New Hampshire and Vermont. She received a bachelor's degree in sociology from Colby College in Maine.
Career
= 1998–2015: Early career, marketing
=Ayers began her career working at the legal department of Fidelity Investments, before switching to marketing. She was the senior vice president of sales and marketing at Demand Media. Prior to that, she held executive marketing positions at Yahoo! and Microsoft. From January 2013 to December 2014, she was the chief marketing officer of AOL. Ayers was then the president and chief revenue officer of New York-based start up Bkstg.
= 2016–2024: CEO of Barstool Sports
=In July 2016, Ayers was named the CEO of Barstool Sports. Ayers oversaw the company's expansion into multimedia, merchandising, streaming and pay-per-view programming. The company's expansion into pay-per-view included the acquisition of amateur boxing league Rough N' Rowdy in 2017.
The valuation of Barstool Sports doubled from $15 million to $30 million during her first year as CEO. It grew to $100 million in 2018. In 2018, Fast Company named Ayers as one of its "Most Creative People in Business", citing Barstool Sports' expansion into multimedia and merchandising during her tenure. That same year, Forbes ranked her 25th on its "Most Powerful Women In U.S. Sports".
In 2019, she was ranked as #19 on The Big Lead's list of "The 75 Most Powerful People in the Sports Media Business." That year, she was included on Crain's New York's "Notable Women in the Business of Sports". Adweek named Ayers as one of its "Most Powerful Women in Sports" in 2017 and 2020.
In 2020, Ayers was elected to the WWE's board of directors and resigned from that position in September 2022. Erika was also on the board of directors at Torchy's Tacos.
In an interview with Digiday, Ayers discussed Barstool Sports' growth during her tenure, from a valuation of $15 million in 2016 to $450 million in 2020. In September 2021, Ayers stated that the company's revenue was expected to exceed $200 million in revenue, doubling the company's $100 million revenue in 2020.
In 2022, under Erika's leadership, Barstool Sports progressed more into live sports and streaming by hosting and broadcasting its first College Basketball Invitational and the first Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl.
In 2022, Barstool Sports also launched its NIL marketplace platform, TwoYay, which connects college athletes directly to advertisers.
In March 2022, Erika joined the board of directors for the Premier Lacrosse League.
Ayers has been named Forbes' Most Powerful Women in Sports, recipient of Crain's Notable Women in Sports, AdWeek's Most Powerful Women in Sports, Cynopsis’ Top Women in Media, a top player in the U.S. Betting Space and Podcasting by Business Insider, and one of Variety's Most Impactful Women in Entertainment of 2023.
In the September 2023 issue of Vanity Fair, Ayers was featured in a lengthy article about driving the success of Barstool Sports.
After more than 7 years at Barstool, Badan resigned as CEO on January 16, 2024.
On January 15, 2024, The New York Post reported that Ayers will be departing Barstool Sports. The next day, she announced in a video on X that she was stepping down as CEO of Barstool Sports.
= 2024–Present: Food52
=In April 2024, Ayers was named CEO of the culinary, lifestyle and homeware company, Food52.
Erika currently serves as a board member on Malaria No More which is a nonprofit organization that seeks to eradicate malaria.
= Podcast host and public speaking
=Ayers hosts Token CEO, a podcast about business and sports news. She was an early supporter of the Premier Hockey Federation (then National Women's Hockey League), and interviewed NWHL players Kelly Babstock and Rebecca Russo on her podcast.
In 2023, Ayers began hosting a daily 1:1 social media series where she answers fan-submitted work-related questions and gives career advice.
She is a frequent public speaker, and has given talks at the Milken Institute, CAA World Congress, the MIT Sloan Sports Conference, the SALT Conference, G2E Las Vegas, and the Barrett Sports Media's annual summit.
= Personal Info
=Nardini is divorced after allegations of cheating on her spouse with her squash coach.
= Publications
=Ayers's debut book, Nobody Cares About Your Career: Why Failure Is Good, the Great Ones Play Hurt, and Other Hard Truths, was published on June 11, 2024, by St. Martin's Press.
