David Shoemaker is the President of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour and since joining the organization in April 2004 has been an integral member of the executive team, applying a unique blend of both legal and business acumen. Shoemaker has contributed significantly to the unparalleled worldwide expansion and prosperity of women's professional tennis, having been promoted to General Counsel less than three years after joining the Tour.
In 2007, Shoemaker was tapped to head the Tour's new Asia-Pacific office, headquartered in Beijing, which opened in June 2008 and where David is now based. In this capacity, David is responsible for driving the growth of women's tennis in Asia-Pacific, which is one of the Tour's strategic priorities. In his additional dual roles of COO and General Counsel, David also oversaw legal affairs, and business and operational areas, including television rights, sponsorship contracts, Tour rules and regulations, as well as the anti-doping program. On August 17, 2009 he was appointed President of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour, replacing fellow Canadian Stacey Allaster, who was promoted to Chairman and CEO.
Since opening the China office, David's accomplishments include a successful negotiation of a four-year agreement with state-owned and controlled China Central Television (CCTV) for the broadcast of Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tennis in mainland China, reaching 335 million households - the first agreement of its kind for the Tour.
Among his many other accomplishments, Shoemaker assumed primary responsibility for negotiating the Tour's landmark six-year, $88 million title sponsorship agreement with Sony Ericsson and played an integral role negotiating and securing $84 million in agreements bringing the year-end Sony Ericsson Championships to Doha, Qatar from 2008 - 2010 and to Istanbul, Turkey from 2011 - 2013. David also played a lead role in negotiating the Tour's landmark deal with the China Open that resulted in Beijing hosting one of the four biggest Tour events beginning in 2009. Additionally, David has played the lead role for the Tour in the formation of a unified anti-corruption program across the four major governing bodies in tennis, principally to address issues relating to gambling in professional tennis.
A corporate and commercial litigator, Shoemaker spent seven years practicing law at two of the most prestigious firms in New York, first at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, and then at Proskauer Rose LLP. At Proskauer, Shoemaker specialized in sports-related client representation. As an advisor to both sports leagues and teams, Shoemaker engaged in all aspects of legal and business affairs for his clients, including the National Hockey League (NHL), Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), Major League Soccer (MLS), the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League and Major League Baseball's Florida Marlins.
During his years in New York, Shoemaker also served as an adjunct professor at Seton Hall University's School of Law and Stillman School of Business, as well as New York University's Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management.
Shoemaker began his career in 1996 as law clerk to the Right Honorable Antonio Lamer, Chief Justice of Canada, following his graduation from the University of Western Ontario Faculty of Law, where Shoemaker finished first in his class. A native of Ottawa, Canada, Shoemaker, 38, also holds a Bachelor's degree in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Toronto (Trinity College).
In 2008, Shoemaker was named to the prestigious Sports Business Journal's "Forty Under 40" list.
A nationally-ranked junior alpine ski racer, Shoemaker hails from a family of accomplished tennis players. His mother, Brenda Nunns Shoemaker, is a former Tour player and member of the Canadian Fed Cup team; his grandfather, Gilbert Nunns, held the number one ranking in Canada in 1930.
