Brand Spotlights

The Brand Spotlight Series showcases innovations and solutions to CX challenges, from today’s leading brands.

Fanatics

An interview with Maureen Barnett, Vice President of Global Fan Experience

At Fanatics, sports fandom isn’t just a pastime; it’s an identity. From the elation of a buzzer-beater to the heartbreak of a missed field goal, every win, loss, and milestone carries meaning. Maureen Barnett, Vice President of Global Fan Experience at Fanatics, has built her career around understanding the emotional pulse and translating that into a customer experience that feels as personal as the game itself.

In this exclusive Brand Spotlight, Maureen opens up about the company’s journey to transform service centers into “experience hubs,” empower frontline teams as brand ambassadors, and use AI not to replace human connection, but to deepen it. Her philosophy is simple yet powerful: When you lead with passion, purpose follows, and loyalty takes care of itself.

In a world of endless transactions, Fanatics proves that connection still wins championships. Under Maureen’s leadership, the brand continues to blur the line between customer and community, turning passion into purpose and Fans into family.

For CX leaders everywhere, her message is a reminder that no matter how fast technology evolves, the heart of experience remains timeless: listen deeply, care genuinely, and always lead with the Fan first.

Execs In The Know (EITK): Your keynote at the Customer Response Summit (CRS) in San Diego focused on the emotional connections that sports create. How do you translate that same sense of passion and loyalty into the way Fanatics designs its customer experience?

Maureen Barnett: At Fanatics, we live and breathe Fan passion. It’s not something we build into our strategy; it is our strategy. Every package we ship carries a story: a championship remembered, a family moment celebrated, a legacy passed down. Our teams know that they’re not just sending packages; they’re delivering moments that matter and helping to create memories that last a lifetime.

We talk about our Fans constantly. We share their stories, sometimes the funny ones, sometimes the heartbreaking ones, because that’s what keeps our work grounded in purpose. When a Fan shares that their late father’s team jacket arrived in time for the memorial game, or that their child’s first jersey made it to the mailbox before the big win, it connects our employees to something much bigger than ecommerce. It builds an emotional connection between our employees and our Fans.

READ FULL SPOTLIGHT

The Fanatics Brand Spotlight is featured in the January 2026 issue of CX Insight magazine.

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