Heidi Browning
Senior EVP, Chief Marketing Officer
National Hockey League
Heidi Browning serves as Senior EVP, Chief Marketing Officer of the National Hockey League. With three decades of marketing experience, Browning brings a valuable mix of brand, agency and media perspective to the NHL. Heidi is known as a passionate pioneer in digital, mobile and social marketing and continues to drive thought leadership and innovation within the industry. Inspired by the intersection of media, technology and culture, she studies generational trends in consumer and brand engagement.
Heidi is responsible for executing the League's growth marketing strategy with a focus on social media, digital, data, insights and innovation. Driven by the mantra “Humans > Highlights”, Browning brings a deep conviction that the future of sports marketing lies in meaningful human connection. She launched NHL Power Players, the League’s Youth Advisory Board, which provides insights and feedback to attract and engage next generation fans. Since joining the NHL in 2016, Browning has led a digital transformation focused on innovation, data-driven strategies, and fan-centric storytelling. Heidi has been recognized as a 2025 Forbes Entrepreneurial CMO 50, a Game Changer by Sports Business Journal, 100 People of Power and Influence by Hockey News, “Most Powerful Women in Sports” by Ad Week, Notable Woman in Sports by Crains, and Forbes World’s Most Influential CMOs.
Prior to joining the NHL, Heidi served as Senior Vice President, Strategic Solutions, at Pandora. Her team was responsible for marketing audio products and marketing experiences that create value for fans, bands and brands. Leveraging Pandora’s passionate fans, first party data, and personalization, Heidi’s team launched live music and content pairing for Fortune 500 clients with emerging and iconic artists. She was recognized as one of the top “Women in Music” by Billboard.
As Senior Vice President of Client Solutions for Fox Interactive Media/MySpace, Heidi evangelized the value of social media in the marketing mix and positioned brand communities as a new way to build audience, create engagement and establish a two-way dialogue between consumers and brands. She led the first in-depth consumer segmentation and ROI study for social media - Never Ending Friending, A Journey Into Social Networking, which quantified the impact of The Momentum Effect.
Browning is a respected thought leader in the industry and is a featured speaker at industry conferences including TEDx Women, Wall Street Journal CMO, Youth Marketing Summit, Forbes CMO, Hashtag Sports, Cannes Lions, SXSW, Forrester, Adweek, and CES. She serves as a board member for Ad Council, the American Advertising Federation and Sports Innovation Lab Women’s Executive Network.
Heidi holds a B.A. from the University of Colorado, Boulder in International Relations. She currently resides in New York, NY and San Francisco, CA.
Heidi is responsible for executing the League's growth marketing strategy with a focus on social media, digital, data, insights and innovation. Driven by the mantra “Humans > Highlights”, Browning brings a deep conviction that the future of sports marketing lies in meaningful human connection. She launched NHL Power Players, the League’s Youth Advisory Board, which provides insights and feedback to attract and engage next generation fans. Since joining the NHL in 2016, Browning has led a digital transformation focused on innovation, data-driven strategies, and fan-centric storytelling. Heidi has been recognized as a 2025 Forbes Entrepreneurial CMO 50, a Game Changer by Sports Business Journal, 100 People of Power and Influence by Hockey News, “Most Powerful Women in Sports” by Ad Week, Notable Woman in Sports by Crains, and Forbes World’s Most Influential CMOs.
Prior to joining the NHL, Heidi served as Senior Vice President, Strategic Solutions, at Pandora. Her team was responsible for marketing audio products and marketing experiences that create value for fans, bands and brands. Leveraging Pandora’s passionate fans, first party data, and personalization, Heidi’s team launched live music and content pairing for Fortune 500 clients with emerging and iconic artists. She was recognized as one of the top “Women in Music” by Billboard.
As Senior Vice President of Client Solutions for Fox Interactive Media/MySpace, Heidi evangelized the value of social media in the marketing mix and positioned brand communities as a new way to build audience, create engagement and establish a two-way dialogue between consumers and brands. She led the first in-depth consumer segmentation and ROI study for social media - Never Ending Friending, A Journey Into Social Networking, which quantified the impact of The Momentum Effect.
Browning is a respected thought leader in the industry and is a featured speaker at industry conferences including TEDx Women, Wall Street Journal CMO, Youth Marketing Summit, Forbes CMO, Hashtag Sports, Cannes Lions, SXSW, Forrester, Adweek, and CES. She serves as a board member for Ad Council, the American Advertising Federation and Sports Innovation Lab Women’s Executive Network.
Heidi holds a B.A. from the University of Colorado, Boulder in International Relations. She currently resides in New York, NY and San Francisco, CA.