When the ICC needed help convincing the LA28 Organizing Committee and the IOC to include cricket in the 2028 Olympics, they called Mark Jones.
When Bully Pulpit International (BPI) – a leading Washington DC PR agency founded by top marketing and comms executives from the Obama and Biden campaigns and administrations – needed to start a formal sports practice, they called Mark Jones.
And then they bought his company.
Jones is a veteran sports and government PR and marketing exec whose 10-year stint at the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) culminated in his role as Vice President, Communications and Marketing. He left in 2020 to start his own firm, Agado Communications, a strategic communications consulting firm focused heavily on sports.
During his time at Agado, Jones was retained by the ICC to help spearhead the ultimately successful effort to get cricket into the Olympics. He subsequently was recruited by the ICC to lead communications for the US-based organizing committee for the Men’s T20 World Cup in 2024.
Agado’s current and former client roster also includes USA Cricket, as well as major entities beyond cricket: including the National Women’s Soccer League, the IOC, World Surf League, FIFA, and various national governing bodies for the Olympics like USA Cheer, USA Swimming, and USA Weightlifting.
Bully Pulpit, which grossed $91m in revenue in 2024 according to PR Week, declared its intention last year to launch a sports service, and it announced its acquisition of Agado last Tuesday.
Jones has assumed the title of Managing Director, Sports for BPI. He will be creating the division, bringing his existing clients into the fold, and assuming leadership of their sports offering and helping existing sports clients, which include the NFL, PGA Tour and NCAA.
Speaking to cricexec, Jones shared his excitement to use this new platform to help continue to build cricket in the US and worldwide: “Cricket is at an inflection point in the United States—and increasingly on the global stage,” he said.
“From helping secure the sport’s inclusion in the upcoming LA Games to leading communications for the organizing committee of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2024, and now supporting USA Cricket’s efforts to build a sustainable, competitive national program, I’ve seen firsthand the momentum behind the game.”
“This next chapter with BPI gives us the ability to scale that impact—bringing together deep sector expertise with best-in-class strategic, creative, and policy capabilities to support the growth of cricket in the U.S. and beyond.”
