NiCE has announced a multi-year brand ambassador partnership with professional golfer and 2025 U.S. Open Champion JJ Spaun.
The new agreement will see Spaun represent the NiCE brand as he continues his career on the PGA TOUR, a move intended to draw connections between Spaun's approach to competition and NiCE's shifting business strategy focused on artificial intelligence (AI) in customer experience.
JJ Spaun's season
JJ Spaun, who currently ranks seventh in the Official World Golf Ranking, is coming off what the company describes as a defining season. Spaun secured his first major victory at the 2025 U.S. Open and delivered strong performances with top finishes at THE PLAYERS Championship and the FedEx St. Jude Championship. He also qualified for the Ryder Cup team in 2025, achieving one of his career goals.
Spaun's record on tour over the past decade has been characterised by what both he and NiCE identify as consistency and perseverance. This philosophy of steady improvement aligning with opportunity mirrors the corporate message NiCE has chosen for its latest transformation.
Corporate developments
In the same year, NiCE accelerated its AI-driven strategy by acquiring Cognigy, a provider of conversational AI technology. The company's main customer experience platform, CXone Mpower, saw increased adoption following this acquisition and a series of new corporate partnerships, which have contributed to what NiCE describes as a new period of business growth for the company's AI services portfolio.
The partnership with Spaun forms a significant aspect of the company's commitment to furthering its AI-first agenda, with the golfer's presence set to carry the NiCE branding on his shirt during PGA TOUR competitions. NiCE underscored this alignment as reinforcing its goal "to create a NiCE world where customers, employees, and communities thrive."
Partnership aims
Through this agreement, Spaun will act as the public face of the NiCE brand, with a remit to "showcase the NiCE logo on his shirt in competition and serve as the brand ambassador, bringing the NiCE story to fans and partners."
"JJ's journey is one every sports fan admires, years of dedication leading to a defining breakthrough," said Scott Russell, CEO, NiCE. "At NiCE, we've had our own breakthrough year, fuelled by consistency and the drive to innovate with AI. Partnering with JJ isn't just about sports, it's about celebrating what it means to perform when it matters most and to keep pushing the boundaries of what's possible. We look forward to cheering JJ on at the Ryder Cup!"
Spaun himself spoke of the significance of the partnership for both parties, highlighting NiCE's values as closely related to those that contributed to his own sporting achievements.
"Winning the U.S. Open was a defining moment in my career - proof of what's possible with focus, consistency, and the right team around you. That's why I'm so excited to partner with NiCE. Their commitment to innovation and excellence mirrors the same principles that drove me to that victory, and together we're going to build something even more impactful."
Shared values
The agreement brings together Spaun's focus on personal discipline with NiCE's aim to further broaden its audience through ambassador-led collaborations. The company has stated that Spaun's role will be instrumental in introducing NiCE's AI-first customer experience vision to a wider international audience, especially among golf enthusiasts and sport followers.
Both NiCE's recent strategic direction and Spaun's rise in global golf rankings are being publicly positioned as examples of the benefits attained through persistence, innovation, and a focus on performance at critical moments. The announcement points to a mutual aspiration to "elevate every experience and make the world better," using Spaun's competitive career and NiCE's business activities as evidence of this objective.
Spaun's involvement as a brand ambassador will continue for multiple years, with the NiCE brand likely to be highly visible in both US and global golf arenas during the remainder of Spaun's playing career.
