Leonard Armato is the founder and CEO of Management Plus Enterprises (MPE), and has been a leader in developing, positioning, and building “high growth” personal and corporate brands converging sports, media, marketing, and technology. He was CMO of Skechers; President of Skechers Performance Division, Founder/CEO of the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour; and was a board member of the Harlem Globetrotters. He is strategic adviser to high profile CEOs and a regular contributor to Forbes.
Armato transformed the way celebrities were marketed by creating and orchestrating the development and launch of Shaquille O’Neal’s brand, evolving the superstar from athlete to institution and “tech influencer”. Armato also developed the “Golden Boy” brand for Oscar De La Hoya and created the marketing infrastructure for Golden Boy Promotions, one of the world’s largest boxing promotion companies.
As a sports entrepreneur, Armato was the founder of the AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour and established it as the first-ever “lifestyle” sport, as well as the creator of the FIVB World Championships of Beach Volleyball and The World Series of Beach Volleyball. A champion of Women’s Sports, as owner of the AVP he was the first to put men and women under one umbrella in beach volleyball and pay equal prize money and mandate equal TV time for both men and women, and was a driving force behind beach volleyball becoming an NCAA Championship sport for women.
Embracing the tech revolutionary early, Armato created the NBA Technology Summit with now NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. The Tech Summit continues to be an exclusive invite only must-attend event at NBA All Star Weekend. He was also founder of Digital Media Campus, the first incubator for digital businesses focusing on sports and entertainment.
As CMO of Skechers he oversaw the company’s creative agencies and orchestrated two celebrity Super Bowl campaigns with Kim Kardashian and others, and as President of Skechers Fitness was instrumental in launching the company’s multibillion dollar performance division.
He is a graduate of the University of San Diego School of Law where he received the USD Law School “Distinguished Alumni” Award and gave the commencement speech at USD Law School. He was recipient of the Heal The Bay “Walk The Talk” award and in 2023 he was presented with the University of the Pacific “Distinguished Alumni” Award. Armato currently resides with his family in Manhattan Beach California.