Savanna Wood

Savanna Wood joined Northwestern University in 2025 as the inaugural Chief Communications and Branding Officer for Northwestern Athletics. She leads communications, marketing, branding, digital and social strategy, in-venue presentation, creative services, fan engagement, ticketing, and broadcast operations, and serves as athletics licensing liaison, driving a unified brand voice and football and basketball revenue.

Wood leads the department's NIL executions, working daily with the NUDAR General Manager on revenue-share allocations and third-party partnerships. She also oversees apparel and licensing relationships and is the external brand and storytelling lead for Kirkpatrick Stadium and the new Ryan Field, opening October 2026.

Previously, Wood was Executive Associate AD, Brand & Marketing Strategy at the University of Miami, overseeing design, video, broadcast, communications, digital, marketing, and event presentation. She built a long-term digital roadmap and created new wordmarks that led to a new uniform set and a significant rise in merchandise sales.

She also directed marketing and digital partnerships at Thrill One Sports and Entertainment, managing events across 27 states and four continents, and spent five seasons leading digital and consumer marketing for the Jacksonville Jaguars, helping launch Daily's Place and AEW.

Wood began her career with the Boston Red Sox after graduating from the University of Florida at 19.