Avish Sood ’07

The Alumni Keystone Award recognizes the outstanding contributions Pickering College young alumni make in their fields to leave our world greater, better, and more beautiful than they discovered it. A keystone is the wedge-shaped piece at the crown of the arch, something which associated pieces depend on for support. Similarly, our young alumni are emerging community leaders who others depend on for inspiration, guidance, and action.

For Avish, that means making a big splash in marketing and sponsorships. Avish currently serves as Manager of Corporate Partnerships for the National Football League, overseeing branded digital integrations and managing client partners like PepsiCo, P&G, Visa, and more.

Some highlights from his work include creating campaigns with some of the NFL’s most popular athletes, such as Jason Kelce, Brandon Marshall and Troy Polamalu.

Beyond his career, Avish co-founded TSwift Dance Party Canada, themed dance nights celebrating the iconic pop music superstar. With his marketing expertise, he was able to build this brand organically, develop strong partnerships with various companies, host the world’s largest Taylor Swift album launch party with over 5,000 fans, and even draw attention from Taylor Swift herself, who commented on not one but two of their social media posts. In November, the two charities that will benefit from Toronto’s Version: Taylgate ‘24 preconcert all-ages event include the Daily Bread Food Bank and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada.

Avish is also the founder of Sponsorship Space, a leading social community for sponsorship marketers to help uplift and support upcoming marketers interested in the field, and co-founder of the University of Toronto Sports Industry Conference.

Through these initiatives, Avish has raised more than $200,000 for charities including UNICEF and the Canadian Cancer Society.

Along with the Alumni Keystone Award, Avish has also been recognized as the 2015 IndoCanadian Chamber of Commerce Young Achiever of the Year, named a top rising marketer in Strategy Magazine - 30 Under 30 in 2016, was chosen as a high potential marketer by Adweek in 2020, and was selected as a ‘future CMO candidate’ by Gary Vaynerchuk’s Marketing for the Now, a YouTube series by one of the leading global minds on what’s next in culture, relevance, and the internet.

Avish is a proud graduate of Pickering College and the University of Toronto with a postgraduate certificate in sports marketing from George Brown College. He said his time at Pickering College gave him some of his favourite childhood memories and lifelong friends.