DraftKings appointed supermodel Gisele Bündchen as a special adviser to the sports-wagering company on environmental, social and governance issues.
Bündchen, an environmental activist and philanthropist, is married to Tom Brady, the seven-time NFL Super Bowl champion quarterback.
In its first collaboration with Bündchen, DraftKings set a goal of planting 1 million trees by Earth Day 2022. The site will encourage customers to directly support the effort, including through charity daily fantasy sports contests and free-to-play pools. In coordination with the Arbor Day Foundation, DraftKings has pledged to plant the first 100,000 trees in U.S. states including California, Florida, Michigan, Oregon, Vermont and Virginia.
DraftKings recently outlined its environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals in a 2020 report, including fighting global climate change, in alignment with the U.N.’s sustainability development goals.
“I look forward to working with the DraftKings board of directors in continuing to find ways to make the most positive impacts through meaningful social and environmental initiatives,” Bündchen said in a statement. “It is very important for successful corporations to make the necessary shifts in ESG initiatives to truly make a difference on a global level.”
DraftKings’ partnership with Bündchen comes as it looks to expand its original content production: Last week, the company announced that it hired Verizon veteran Brian Angiolet as its first chief media officer.
DraftKings chairman/CEO Jason Robins called Bündchen a “global icon,” and added, “I believe that the strategic counsel and unique global perspective that Gisele brings to me and the board will be indispensable and, as evidenced by our Earth Day campaign, her impact will be immediate and far-reaching.”
Brazilian native Bündchen has been featured more than 1,200 magazine covers worldwide and walked the runway in nearly 500 fashion shows. She is a prominent supporter of numerous environmental and social projects, including Projeto Água Limpa (Clean Water Project), which implements sustainable environmental water management systems near her hometown in Brazil. In 2020, she launched the Viva a Vida initiative which raised funds to plant over 260,000 trees along the Xingu and Araguaia River in the Brazilian Amazon Rainforest. Bündchen has also served as a Goodwill Ambassador for the U.N. Environmental Program since 2009.
