Carl Hairston joined the Atlantic Coast Conference in December 2021 and serves as Vice President of Marketing and Brand Strategy. In this role, he helps lead the Conference’s brand, marketing, fan engagement and revenue-growth initiatives, including sponsorship activation in collaboration with ESPN. He also serves as co-chair of the ACC UNITE Committee.
Before joining the ACC, Hairston was Associate Director of Athletics for External Relations at North Carolina A&T State University. As a member of the department’s senior leadership team, he led the marketing and sponsorship unit, overseeing revenue generation, corporate relations, branding, ticket sales, promotions and the gameday experience. He also managed football non-conference scheduling. Prior to his time at North Carolina A&T, Hairston served as Assistant Director of Marketing at Elon University.
Hairston previously served on the executive board of the National Association of Collegiate Marketing Administrators (NACMA). In 2022, he completed the NCAA Pathway Program, which prepares senior-level athletics administrators for future leadership roles as athletics directors and conference commissioners.
A native of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Hairston earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing, with an emphasis in sales, from Elon University in 2011 and a Master of Business Administration from Elon in 2015. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and has served on the boards of the Hayes-Taylor YMCA, the Elon Black Alumni Network and the Elon Young Alumni Council. Hairston was named the Elon Black Alumni Network’s Young Alumnus of the Year in 2022 and was recognized as a Black Business Ink 40 Under 40 honoree in 2020. He also volunteers as a mentor and lunch buddy in the community.
Hairston and his wife, Veronica, have one son.