Open · Director · VP · President Roles

Happy people buy things.
I build the moments that make them happy.

35+ years turning stadiums, streets, and storefronts into revenue engines. Six major US markets. NFL stadium activations with the Broncos, Jaguars, Chiefs, and Cowboys. Brand partnerships with MasterCard, Smithfield, Budweiser, Jack Daniels, and Weber. Experiential production engineered so attendance becomes affinity and affinity becomes commerce.

See The Work › Get In Touch ›

Base St. Louis · Open to Remote

Credentials MBA Finance · Olin

Current Board Chair · MSD

Executive Producer · CHO

Brian Wahby

Signature Work

Six cities. One brand.
Built across eleven years.

From a single festival in St. Louis to a multi-market Q brand plugged into NFL stadiums across America. Eleven years of experiential production told in one arc.

01 · OF · 06

St. Louis

The Q In The Lou

2015 The origin market · 2015 to 2023

Where it started. A downtown St. Louis barbecue festival launched in partnership with the Mayor's office, the Q In The Lou proved the model: turn underused civic space into a brand-funded experiential destination. Eight seasons. Built the playbook that traveled to five more markets.

Mayor of St. Louis MasterCard Budweiser Smithfield Foods 2015 to 2023

Experience

Four chapters. One through-line. Revenue through relationship.

A career built on turning civic trust, brand partnerships, and consumer experience into measurable commercial outcomes.

2013 · 2024
11 years

Executive Producer & CHO

Eximius Productions · Founder

Built the Q Festival brand from a single-city concept into a six-market platform that included NFL stadium partnerships in Denver, Jacksonville, Kansas City, and Dallas. Led brand strategy, sponsor acquisition, and on-the-ground experiential production. Developed and executed multi-year deals with MasterCard, Smithfield, Budweiser, Jack Daniels, and Weber. Executive produced the NFL Smoke Show at the 2023 Kansas City Draft. Three days of cooking competitions, fan activations, active NFL players, and on-stage programming with Commissioner Goodell.

6 Major Markets · 4 NFL Stadiums MasterCard · Smithfield · Budweiser 2023 NFL Draft Omnichannel Touch Marketing

›

2001 · 2020
19 years

Principal

The Berrick Partnership · Real Estate & Public Affairs

Secured the $750K federal earmark that anchored a transit center in St. Louis's Cortex innovation district. Led approvals and financing for the $50M Merchandise Mart Apartments, the first downtown residential project of its kind in 40 years. Acquired, assembled, and sold real estate portfolios at 20% annualized return. Served as interim COO of a mid-sized developer. Cut personnel costs 20%, restructured operations, delivered sustained margin.

$500M+ Public Capital Career $50M Development Approvals 20% Annualized Return Interim COO

›

1999 · 2001
2 years

Senior Project Manager

Historic Restoration, Inc. · Real Estate Development

Represented the owner-developer on St. Louis's $300M Convention Headquarters Hotel, a thousand-room flagship that reshaped the downtown core. Led integrated media and government affairs strategy at state and local levels, landing over $150M in public support. Played a critical role in value engineering the project to hit budget without sacrificing the design brief.

$300M Flagship Hotel $150M+ Public Support Value Engineering

›

1988 · 1999
11 years

Assistant City Treasurer

City of St. Louis · Development & External Finance

Took department annual revenue from $2M to $12M, a 6x increase, by developing a portfolio of retail and parking assets and modernizing the on-street parking system. Led financing, development, and construction of the $15M Kiel Center parking facility, delivered two weeks ahead of schedule. Served on the Downtown NOW! working group whose blueprint drove $4.5B of downtown reinvestment and 12,000 new residents.

6x Revenue Growth $15M Facility · Ahead Of Schedule $4.5B Downtown Impact

›

Chief
Happiness
Officer

The Thesis

Happiness is contagious.
So is a great story.
Both convert.

I spent eleven years running festivals that plugged consumer brands into physical moments. Not because screens don't work, but because the thing a customer remembers is the thing they pay for twice. Post-COVID, that bet got louder. The brands I've worked with (MasterCard, Smithfield, Budweiser, Jack Daniels, Weber, the NFL) all showed up for the same reason: attendance becomes affinity, affinity becomes commerce.

My job was never to throw a party. My job was to build an omnichannel marketing vehicle where one of the channels happened to be a 50,000-seat stadium parking lot on a weekend the team wasn't playing. At its core, that's promotion. Building the relationship between the consumer and the brand, then pulling it through into commerce.

Brian Wahby

Exec Producer · Chief Happiness Officer

Partner Roster

Brands who showed up.
50+ activation partners over 11 years.

A selection of the names that trusted Eximius with activation dollars, event sponsorships, and on-site consumer experiences across six markets.

NFL

2023 KC Draft

MasterCard

Anchor Sponsor

AT&T

Telecom Partner

Coca-Cola

CPG Anchor

State Farm

Insurance Partner

Smithfield

CPG · Multi-Market

Macy's

Retail Partner

Walgreens

Retail Partner

Hilton

Hospitality Partner

YETI

Premium CPG

Crown Royal

Spirits · Diageo

Budweiser

On-Premise · Multi-Year

Bud Light

On-Premise Partner

Miller Lite

On-Premise Partner

Jack Daniels

Brand Activation

Tito's

Spirits Partner

Truly

Hard Seltzer · ABI

Publix

Grocery Partner

HyVee

Grocery Partner

Weber

Grilling Partner

Denver Broncos

Mile High Stadium

KC Chiefs

Arrowhead Stadium

Jacksonville Jaguars

TIAA Bank Field

Dallas Cowboys Mkt

DFW Market Build

Selected Moments

Sometimes you just had to be there.

A few things that still mean something, inside the work and alongside it.

The Signature · 2023

The NFL Smoke Show at the 2023 KC Draft.

Produced on behalf of the NFL. Three days of cooking competitions, live demonstrations, and fan activations around the league's biggest annual tent-pole event. Secured and managed active NFL players for broadcast appearances. On-stage programming closed with Commissioner Roger Goodell. The kind of work where the creative brief says "make football fans feel this is the best weekend of their year" and you deliver it.

ClientThe NFL

Scale3 Days · National

TalentCommissioner Goodell

$1.2B

Current Governance

Chair of the Board, Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District. Regional water utility serving 1.3M residents.

MBA

Olin · Washington University

Finance concentration. The business-side credential behind every creative decision.

2008

Obama For America · MO

First Missouri Democratic Party Chair to endorse Obama. Won state primary. National civic-campaign operator.

Happy people buy things. I build the moments that make them happy.

Six cities. One brand.Built across eleven years.